Objection
by Anubis Enfield
Summary: "Let me guess. You had a change of heart while captured, rushed back desperate to make amends and do something about it, which is why you stopped your company making weapons. That was the immediate solution, but you've been too distracted to come up with something more. You don't know what direction you want to go in next. I can help." "Who are you?" "Your new lawyer... Mr. Stark."
1. Chapter 1

**Watched Avengers and had a dislike of Tony's relationship with Pepper, so... tada! This will start in Iron Man 1 and go through all three movies as well as the Avengers movies. Basically, anything Tony's in, my OC will be in. Only warnings are slight mentions of child abuse and language and insinuations of sex later on.**

* * *

"Hold on. You want me to _what?_"

My boss, Jacob McLennan, sighed heavily. "It's a business proposition, Jess. Nothing more."

"Uh, no. It's obviously a bit more than that. Are we talking about the same person?" I questioned, running my hand through my short, messy, auburn curls.

I had just finished up my last case when one of the interns informed me that he wanted to see me, but I had no idea it'd be something like this.

"Mr. Stark."

"As in the narcissistic, rich billionaire with a flare for the dramatic? _That_ Stark? The very same one who just announced that his weapon's factory is no longer going to make weapons?"

"The very same."

"You're joking. You're pulling my leg, right?" I questioned in disbelief, but his expression didn't change. "He wants the best lawyer in the country and you're sending _me?_ Why not send Michael or, or Kristina?"

"Kristina has refused due to multiple instances of his more… flirtatious personality when dealing with women."

"Oh, thanks," I muttered, only a little self-conscious of my more masculine appearance.

"And I _did_ send Michael, but after what's just happened, he's demanding a reassignment. As it was, he was having trouble dealing with Mr. Stark, who went out of his way to bother him."

"So, I'm being sent in to do what? Pick up the mess we left behind?"

He sighed heavily. "Look, Jess. Nobody wants to deal with him at the moment, but he pays well. We already had our foot in the door with Michael, but if we lose that, then it could cause a black mark on our business."

"Why me? I'm hardly the best in the business."

"Despite your… limitations, you _are_ one of the best."

I scoffed, reaching up and tapping my left eye. "Limitations my ass. Nobody wants a partially blind lawyer." I paused then, frowning. "Hold on. He doesn't care about that?"

Jacob shrugged. "He doesn't care about much. He asked for the best I had to offer, so I'm giving it to him. So long as you do your job right, there shouldn't be any issues."

"Except the amount of work I'm going to have to do," I grumbled, earning a raised brow from him.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's not like I'm going to get anything better," I huffed, folding my arms over my chest. "And this will get me out there a bit more, plus the pay will obviously be well. Maybe I can finally get a dog."

Jacob smiled. "Perfect. I'll call to inform him you're taking over for Michael. He'll want to meet you within the next few days. You'll be doing work from his work office, so I will make sure your desk and things get properly dealt with. Although, you'll probably be working with his secretary more than him."

"Joy," I muttered.

* * *

The transition was relatively easy. I'd met with Pepper Potts, Stark's personal secretary and we got on well enough. Okay, that was a lie. She's an absolute gem. Brought me coffee while dealing with one of Stark's many lawsuits working well into the night in order to get it and his business functional again, with or without his main resource of weapons. As for the man himself, well, I hadn't seen him. I was hired by him—my checks were still going through, signed by him—but the man himself had apparently locked himself down in his lab, according to Pepper.

I didn't mind, really. It meant he wasn't getting in anyone's face and therefore causing more possible lawsuits. I wasn't even allowed anywhere near his home. Papers were handed off to Pepper, who then delivered them to him, got his signature where it was needed and returned. It was only a tad annoying. I tended to like having one-on-one time with the client I was working for if only to understand them better and get a better feeling on what sort of trouble should be expected. So far, it was common stuff. Sexual harassment, property damage, noise complaints, and the occasional disturbance. His home was situated far enough away from others that I didn't have many problems there, but with what he'd just pulled with his business, I had a full workload almost every day. Needless to say, I was beginning to get worn down and my patience for the man thinning with every new thing he added to my desk. Finally, I'd had enough.

"I want a meeting with him," I demanded from Pepper, who blinked in surprise as I dropped a heavy file on her desk.

"Um, about?" She questioned, picking it up and beginning to skim through it, wincing when she saw what it was.

"His business," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and drumming my fingers on my arm. "I get he doesn't want to make weapons anymore. He had a big change of heart while in Afghanistan, so it's expected, but his board is getting antsy. They're trying to find loopholes in his contracts to get him thrown out as CEO. I'm fighting them off as best I can, but my leash is getting tighter with every complaint. I need to throw them a bone, but I can't do that without speaking with him to get any sort of idea as to where he wants to go with this."

"I can ask—"

"No, Pepper. _I_ need to speak with him. Personally. As much as I enjoy not dealing with him and his cocky attitude, there comes a point when I have to deal with it. I can't do my job anymore without something to go with, and what I can get from him _is_ that something." I relaxed my posture slightly, shoulder sagging tiredly as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Please. I'm running on my last legs here. I only started working a month ago and I haven't slept much since because I've been trying to get in his head and figure this crap out. I can only do so much on my own and I _need_ his input."

She sighed heavily, handing me back the file. "I'll see what I can do."

"I really am sorry about this," I apologized, knowing that I'd been a bit harsh with her. "I know how difficult he's making things for you. For the both of us. If I could step down into that lab of his and beat him upside the head to get my way, I would. Instead, I'm stuck going through you to get signatures and business propositions that are _obviously_ yours."

"What?"

I shot her a look. "I'm a lawyer. You'll find that with enough attention to paperwork, you can tell who's writing it and tidbits of their personality. You're good, I'll give you that," I smirked, leaning against her desk as she managed a small smile. "Got some fire in you, but not enough of that cocky narcissism that Stark has."

She rolled her eyes, but the smile remained. "Yes, well, I try. He's not exactly running the company at the moment."

"Yeah, you and that Obadiah guy are." I frowned though, glancing at the clear glass surrounding her office and gave her a look. "I'm worried about him."

She blinked. "Obadiah?"

I nodded. "Get me into Stark's place, even if I just shout at him for five minutes and I'll let you know. He should know too if he cares at all about this company."

"What do you mean? What's Obadiah doing?"

I shook my head. "Can't talk here. Like I said, get me in his home. We need to have a talk."

* * *

"You know, I knew it was big from the outside, but this is a bit over the top for one guy," I hummed, eyeing the main living room curiously. "Piano's a nice touch. Does he play?"

Pepper shrugged. "I've never seen him."

"You got any drinks?" I questioned, shooting her a glance. "Something strong. Just enough to get me to tolerate whatever I might walk into with him."

Her lip twitched up in a small smile. "I'll grab you a glass."

"Thanks," I hummed with a small smile myself.

We'd gotten a bit closer, despite our obvious differences. She was a pretty, red head with a quiet fire in her that she kept tucked away except for when dealing with business, remaining mousy until it was needed. Whereas I was stiff, professional, less pretty and more… different. I didn't go out of my way to get dolled up and wore a suit to events where formality was required. My hair was often tousled from running my hand through it during stressful times, and a pair of glasses hung off my dress shirt pocket for reading fine print. I wasn't dainty like Pepper though. I had a mean tongue that could be sickly sweet when dealing with business but could curse like a sailor when it was personal.

Today though was business. Not formal enough for a suit, but enough for an untucked pale blue dress shirt and decent, dark jeans. I doubted Tony would care much about my appearance, from what I did know of him. _Tends to brush off most men and only ogles at women, thus leaving them never able to get things across to him. I'm a mix. A woman, but not pretty enough to distract him and not masculine enough to be completely ignored. I'm something different. Should catch his attention for a bit._ I looked over a desk nearby, eyeing the plain art above the wall and the obvious lack of personal touch. _Very little personal touch of anything in here, actually. Everything's very artificial, on display. Like a house viewing._ I brushed a hand over the desk, checking my fingers and finding no dust. _Decent cleaning though, probably poor Pepper. She really should stand up for herself more._

Footsteps approached behind me and I turned, half expecting Pepper with my drink only to find Tony Stark climbing up a set of stairs. We both paused, staring at one another and while his eyes caught on the two scars running over my left brow, my eyes caught on the glowing blue metal centerpiece in his chest.

"Excuse me, who are you? How did you get in here?" He suddenly demanded, drawing my gaze to his until he frowned. "Jarvis? Why is there a stranger in my home?"

I sighed. "I'm not—"

Before I could reassure him and remind him that he'd accepted this meeting, a voice echoed through the home.

"_Apologies, sir. However, you did have a meeting today with your lawyer. Miss Potts informed you about this a few days ago_."

"Did she?" He questioned, brows furrowed before looking over me again. "You don't look like a lawyer."

"And you don't look like the CEO of a major industrial company," I shot back as Pepper returned.

"A-Ah, Tony."

He waved her off, stepping past me and taking the scotch from her that had been meant for me. "It's fine. Jarvis mentioned a meeting. Who is she?"

Pepper looked at me nervously, probably expecting some kind of anger or retort or something for him taking my drink and blowing me off when I was right there, but I'd dealt with pompous dicks before. I could keep my temper to get the end goal. It was my job.

"S-She's, um, your lawyer. She replaced Michael Scott a little over a month ago. She wished to have a meeting to discuss some business pro—"

"Don't care," he hummed, drinking the scotch and looking to me with a wave of his hand. "You can go now."

I blinked slowly, not moving. "Nope."

He stopped, lowering his glass. "Excuse me?"

"Not leaving," I hummed, reaching down and scooping up the file I'd set on the desk, holding it out. "You'll want to see this."

He didn't take it, just watching me with a frown. "Don't think I will. If you need anything signed, just send them through Miss Potts like you have been."

"Hm," I cracked a small smirk. "Nothing needs signing. Wouldn't be here if that was it. I came to discuss a way to keep your board of directors from bumping you as chair. Although," I lowered the file, tossing it haphazardly onto the desk and shrugging. "Business is business. It's my job to fight them and your job to just sit back and hope I'm doing it right."

He frowned, glancing at Pepper before setting his glass down. "Why are you here then?"

I ignored his question, eyeing the ceiling. "Is it an artificial intelligence system or a preprogramed user interface of some kind with access to whatever information is given to it in order to come up with an intelligent response?"

His mouth dropped open for a moment before he managed to compose himself. "Artificial intelligence, but what—"

"Intelligent enough to make its own decisions, learn and have its own personality?" I questioned again, having caught his attention.

"Well, yeah, but what do you know about—"

"Enough," I cut him off, sliding by him and scooping up the glass he'd abandoned, finishing it off. "Ready to talk now?"

He smirked. "Depends. We talking business?"

"Unfortunately, yes," I rolled my eyes at his flirting. "Despite what you might think, it _does_ require a CEO at some point."

"Boring," he grumbled, but he sat down on one of the couches, meaning he wasn't leaving just yet.

_Gotcha._ I sat down across from him and slipped on my glasses as Pepper brought back over the file I'd tossed.

"Thanks," I smiled at her and she nodded back with a smile, making Tony raise a brow.

"You two seem to get along."

"That's what happens when you practically have your secretary running your business. It leaves your lawyer dealing more with her than with you, seeing as you're too busy working on whatever down in your basement."

"It's a lab, not a basement."

"It's below ground," I countered, lifting my gaze to his. "Basement. And you should know that arguing with a lawyer is an endless venture. I could argue with you that two plus two equals forty-seven and win."

"Well, technically, math is a social construct used for measurement, so arguing the answer to an equation is easy. And I would definitely win."

_He's definitely flirty. God, someone throw the man a bone,_ I thought, merely glancing at him over the rim of my glasses before looking over the file I had. "Anyway, your board of directors is doing everything they can to push you out of your company. I've managed to dissuade them thus far, but they're pushing back harder than usual the longer you stay hidden away in your… _lab_."

He shrugged. "I'll get around to dealing with them eventually."

"I can't wait for eventually," I countered, sliding a few pages over to him across the coffee table. "These are current business propositions _Pepper_ has come up with while you've been busy, and they're shooting every single one down in defiance. And this," I passed over a pack of staples papers. "This is a list of contracts that I've been negotiating with in order to try and keep them involved with your company despite your latest venture out of the weapons industry. Thing is, they're asking why they should stay. No one has had any information as to what Stark Industries will be doing now that you've taken them out of the arms race. I can't get people to stay or find new companies to support the business if I don't have some direction to go in."

Tony looked over the files, flipping through the packet with a small frown before glancing at Pepper as I drank some more scotch. "Weren't you supposed to be in charge of this?"

"Miss Norris handles all of your lawsuits and legal ventures, including issues that arise within the company," Pepper explained. "The number of these has gone down while you've been away, but with your announcement, more and more people are demanding answers and fighting against contracts to back out."

"In other words," I cut in. "People are finding loopholes in your contracts, any little thing, in order to back out. The ones that find them I can't hold onto, but there are _some_ that are willing to stay for the right reason. I've been working with Pepper to try and keep your company afloat. Give them a reason to stay, and you'll have people sticking around for when you finally figure out what it is you want your company doing. Until then, you have to give them something, or you're going to have your business ripped out from under you by the board. Thus, ruining whatever you planned on doing now that you've pulled Stark Industries out of weapons manufacturing."

I leaned back against the sofa and eyed him, waiting for some sort of response, though not entirely expecting the tired gaze and slightly sagging shoulders. _Where's all that bravado? That confidence? He obviously cares about the company, or he would just hand it over to the board, but this… Does he…_ I sat back up, brows furrowed slightly.

"You… You don't know what to do, do you?"

His eyes snapped to me, a spark of anger flashing in them. "Excuse me?"

I waved off his anger. "Not to offend, it was just an observation."

"Jess," Pepper muttered, warning me, but I wasn't about to let up.

Not when I was finally getting somewhere.

"Let me guess. You had a change of heart while captured, rushed back desperate to make amends and do something about it, which is why you stopped your company making weapons," I concluded, trying to push past the anger that was building up in him. "That was the immediate solution, but you've been too distracted to come up with something more. You don't _know_ what direction you want to go in next."

He stood up then, setting his glass down on the table harder than he probably meant to. "You need to go. _Now_."

_Not yet. I need to get something for this. Need to warn him about Obadiah. Just one more push._ I stood as well, remaining eye level with him. "You need to give me something. Give _them_ something! I get you're upset and still hurting from what happened but wallowing in your basement is only going to end up ruining what you're trying to do by pulling your company out! You don't have to get over everything right away, just stop and think for a moment and—"

My glasses slid across the floor as Pepper brought her hands to her mouth in shock. I sucked in a slow breath through my nose, closing my eyes and doing my best to hold my temper at the flare in my cheek.

"You don't know anything that happened to me," Tony snapped, voice cold. "Now, get out. You're fired."

He stormed off back downstairs as I went over and picked up my glasses from the ground, frowning at the cracked left lens. Pepper hurried over as well, looking between my red cheek from where he'd slapped me and the stairs he'd disappeared down.

"I… I am _so_ sorry. I've never seen him like that before. I'll make sure he buys you knew glasses," she apologized, but I waved her off.

"It's fine. It was my fault. I pushed too many sore spots too soon." I sighed heavily, putting my glasses back in my pocket. "I'll apologize to him as soon as I can. I just… it was something he needed to hear. I won't have him throwing away the hard work he's attempting to do. He stopped his company from making weapons for a reason. If he loses the company before he's able to figure it out, then it will be for nothing. Just had to give him a nudge."

Pepper blinked in surprise. "You… You really care about this, don't you?"

I snorted. "I care about my work, yeah. Shocking for a lawyer, right?"

"But the way you were talking…"

"I've been there," I muttered, giving her a soft, sad smile. "Isolating yourself after a trauma never helps. Throwing yourself into work, pushing everyone away. Those sorts of things never get you anywhere. Even the smart ones can fail. Just takes someone pissing you off sometimes to get you out of it. Figured I'd be that for him. He's only just met me, after all. It's best he loses someone he never knew that someone close." I pat her on the shoulder, picking up my files off the table and nodding towards the door. "I'll see myself out."

"I'll… I'll talk to him," Pepper said definitively, lifting her chin as confidently as she could. "About your job. You're only trying to help."

I cracked a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Pepper."

She nodded in return, not realizing what I'd meant and neither of us realizing that Jarvis had been listening in.

* * *

Tony had calmed down after the events that had occurred a few days ago rather quickly. He'd thrown himself into his work more passionately than before, only to get thrown across the room by the thrusters he was working on. With a headache now ignited, he'd taken a moment to sit down and relax. He'd been planning on rethinking the mechanics involved in the thrusters, but instead, his mind drifted back to that woman.

"_You don't know what to do, do you?"_

He grimaced, remembering the flood of anger that had caused his hand to snap out, looking down at the appendage in guilt. He'd _never_ assaulted someone like that before and he felt terrible about it, but he knew she'd overstepped her boundaries. She was his _lawyer_, not a psychiatrist or anyone close to him. She had no right to act like she knew what he was dealing with, so he'd been right to fire her. He wasn't planning on taking her back on either, even if she begged. No, but he did need to apologize for hitting her. He sighed heavily, rubbing at the angry knot at the back of his head from where he'd hit the wall.

"_I… I am so sorry. I've never seen him like that before,_" a recording played out, making him frown at the hologram playing over his desk. "_I'll make sure he buys you knew glasses._"

"Jarvis, turn that off."

Jarvis ignored him, making him bristle when he saw who the recording was of. His lawyer, Jess, and Pepper right after he'd stormed out.

"Jarvis, I mean it. Turn it off."

"_Apologies, sir, but I do believe you might wish to listen_."

"Jar—" Tony was cut off by Jess speaking.

"_It was my fault. I pushed too many sore spots too soon,_" the woman said, heaving out a sigh. "_I'll apologize to him as soon as I can. I just… it was something he needed to hear. I won't have him throwing away the hard work he's attempting to do. He stopped his company from making weapons for a reason. If he loses the company before he's able to figure it out, then it will be for nothing. Just had to give him a nudge._"

Tony sat a little straighter, eyeing the woman with a hint of confusion. _What is she talking about? Why would she even care?_

"_You… You really care about this, don't you?_" Pepper asked as if reading his mind.

"_I care about my work, yeah. Shocking for a lawyer, right?_" Jess had answered, cracking a small smile that surprised him.

While not exactly his type of woman with her blunt masculinity, the small smile had softened her features in a way he hadn't expected. Then, what she said next really got to him.

"_I've been there. Isolating yourself after a trauma never helps. Throwing yourself into work, pushing everyone away. Those sorts of things never get you anywhere. Even the smart ones can fail. Just takes someone pissing you off sometimes to get you out of it. Figured I'd be that for him. He's only just met me, after all. It's best he loses someone he never knew that someone close._"

The recording ended, and he sank back into his seat, mind reeling. She was right. He knew that, especially now that he'd calmed down enough to realize it. Perhaps that was why he'd been so upset earlier. Because she _was_ right about him. He had no idea what he was doing right now other than making his suit. He hadn't wanted to deal with the politics of his actions and left it to Obadiah and Pepper to deal with it, and now Jess as well. And now to find out she was only trying to help? Trying to help by burning her potential bridge with him in order to keep him from shutting out someone else? _What if it had been Pepper?_ Tony wondered, thinking back to how he'd acted and wincing when he'd remembered the slap again.

"Jarvis?"

"_Yes, sir?_"

"Show me the information from Stark Industries. All the companies trying to leave and any information you have on the board of directors and what they've been up to."

"_Sir?_"

"Just curious," he responded to the AI's hesitation and soon files were showing up on the hologram instead.

He flipped through sheet after sheet, seeing just how poorly his announcement had gone and everything that was happening while he was tucked away. He paused at a few though, moving them to the side and waving away the rest to get a closer look.

"Jarvis, what are these?"

"_The information you requested, taken from the computer database under Miss Norris' jurisdiction._"

"More specifically?"

"_The emails she's been sending out to the companies attempting to leave, as well as to the board of directors._"

He skimmed through them, seeing the professionalism in her wording, how careful it was to not sound anything like begging the companies to stay or argue with the board of directors over their demands. The guilt swimming in him only grew the more he read, flipping through email after email. The apologies, the suggestions, the perfectly worded debates that were _working_. He had seen at least forty different companies attempting to back out of deals with Stark Industries and only seven had successfully done so. The rest were hanging in limbo, hanging on her word to see what would happen next. And she'd come directly to him to find out.

He hadn't personally met with his outside help for _years._ Pepper took care of most of that, and if not her, then the board of directors or Obadiah. Not one of them had ever sought _him_ out either. At least, not until her.

"Jarvis, what information do you have about Jess Norris?"

The previous information disappeared, and a driver's license flickered into view along with files of information on his new—ex—lawyer.

"_She is a graduate of high caliber at one of the nation's top legal universities. Nearly top of her class at Harvard,_" Jarvis summarized, knowing he wasn't going to read the fine print himself. "_Records indicate that she was initially attempting to be a physicist until she switched majors after some sort of accident._"

He frowned, thinking back to the small pale scars running through her left eyebrow. "What kind of accident?"

"_A car accident, according to the police reports._"

"Hm."

"_Shall I go on?_"

He waved him off, spinning idly in his chair. "Sure."

"_She's been working cases for twelve years, losing only one case early on. It appears she did criminal cases before moving into business dealings. Other than that, she lives in a decent apartment complex not far from her work, pays her bills on time, no criminal record, and is an only child of deceased parents._"

"She mentioned a trauma in that recording. Any record of that?"

"_No, sir. Only that her father died in the car accident that she escaped from._"

Tony waved the information off the hologram, getting up and making for the stairs. "I'm going to get a drink. Tell Pepper Chinese sounds good for dinner."

"_Of course, sir._"

He stepped upstairs and headed for the kitchen, grabbing some water and planning on lounging around just as Pepper walked in, getting ready to leave to get his food.

"Tony, perfect. Look, I wanted to talk to you about—"

"Who's by the door?" He asked then, cutting her off at the sight of the shadow reflecting on the window.

"Right, about that. I wanted to ask you if you could—"

"No, seriously. Who is it?" He demanded, heading for it as Pepper scrambled to speak.

"Tony, about Jess—"

He pulled the door opened, startling the person who was sitting on his porch with a pink tinted nose and a blanket over her shoulders—one of _his_ blankets. Jess rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment as he stared in blatant shock—Pepper trying to explain.

"About her job…"

"No," he stated definitively, closing the door and walking away as if he hadn't seen her. "Are you getting the food or are we delivering?"

Pepper chased after him, grip tightening on her purse as she tried to get him to listen. "Tony, she's been showing up every day since you fired her."

"Sounds like that's her problem," he mused, searching the kitchen and grabbing an Oreo from a packet in the cupboard.

Pepper took the packet from him, preventing him from eating more. "Just give her a chance," she pressed. "I know she went too far before, but she wants to apologize. If you'd just let her—"

"What for?" He countered, eyeing her and her desperation. "And why are you so gung-ho over her all of a sudden?"

Pepper sighed. "Tony, please. She's only doing everything she can to try and help you with the company. I swear, she's a good person."

"Well, I don't know that."

"Because you won't give her a chance."

Tony eyed her for a moment, before looking away. "Are you getting the Chinese or not?"

"Tony—"

"Figure out what she wants too," he stopped her, pointing a finger at Pepper. "No business."

Pepper nodded, grinning and hurrying out with him following. Once she left to get the food, he looked down to Jess on his porch, who hadn't moved to even look at him.

"Sorry," she muttered, glancing back to catch his gaze. "About what I said before."

He watched her for a second before nodding inside, stepping away and letting her trail after him. He went into the kitchen again and speaking over his shoulder.

"Tea, coffee?"

"Coffee," she grumbled, standing awkwardly in his home and eyeing his back.

"Bit late for coffee, don't you think?"

"I don't sleep well anyway."

He made a mental note of that, but got her a cup, passing it to her as he got one for himself, leaning against the island to eye her. "Sorry. About your glasses and…" He gestured to his cheek.

She shook her head, lip twitching up slightly. "It's fine. I overstepped my boundaries. I saw you getting upset and didn't back off."

"Doesn't make it right," he countered, surprising her when he reached out and brushed his fingers over her cheek. "Still hurt?"

She took a step back away from him, not comfortable with the move. "No."

He didn't mind, thinking back to what Jarvis had told him. "Almost top of your class, huh?"

She stiffened for a second but was quick to relax. "Yeah. Read up on me then?"

"Have to." He shrugged, moving for the couches as she did the same, still holding the blanket over her shoulders. "I need to know who I'm hiring, after all."

Jess let out a soft snort. "You mean who _Pepper's_ hired. You could have just asked her, you know. She wouldn't hire me if she didn't think I knew what I was doing."

"You have a good record, sure, but you were right about me. I don't know what I'm doing."

She didn't respond, waiting to see where he was going with things, which he silently applauded her for. She wasn't overbearing like some women. She was smart, obviously, but knew when to listen and when to press forward, even if it meant pushing a little too far to get the right result. _Possibly self-destructive_, he noted, sipping his drink and waving at her with his other hand.

"So? What do you suggest?"

She blinked. "Me? You fired me."

"And yet, you've apparently been haunting my porch ever since. You wanted to catch my attention and now you've done it. So, convince me that you're worth it."

She seemed to sit a little straighter at that and he could see the cogs spinning in her head. "Well, if you're not doing weapons anymore, find something else using the same sort of materials. Something less destructive is what I believe you're going for. Something that can help, right?"

He didn't answer, letting her think everything through based on what she assumed of him. They didn't know each other well after all. They only knew what they did based on what they've read up on and their last experience. He was curious to see what she thought, curious about her thought process.

"Renewable energy perhaps? A battery with the strength to power whole nations." She frowned then, immediately disliking it. "No. That in the wrong hands could cause a problem. Perhaps something that disables weapons then? But then if the enemy gets a hold of it…"

"Not so easy, is it?" He commented, unable to help himself.

She grunted in agreement. "Never said it would be. Just said we need something to shut everyone up."

"Good luck. I've been trying for ages and they still pound on my door."

"Well, you've obviously got a better idea than I do, hiding away working in that basement of yours."

"It's a lab, and I don't know how it will turn out. I probably don't want my company even knowing about it." He shot her a look, wondering if she'd get nosey about it, but she just hummed, sipping her coffee and cradling it close to her face, soaking in the heat.

"Personal project, then. Fun. I haven't been in a lab in eons."

"Why _did_ you change your major?" He asked, catching the slight tightening of her hands around her mug.

"Things changed," she muttered, trying to brush the topic off. "Just couldn't do it anymore."

He tipped his head curiously and reaching across the table towards her left eyebrow. "What caused this? Your eye looks a little—"

Her eyes went wide, and she jerked back just as the door opened and Pepper returned with the food.

"So?" She enquired, heading over. "Everything work out? Or…" She trailed off as she caught Tony leaning back into his seat and Jess suddenly looking uneasy. "Right! So, who got the chow mein?"

* * *

I had gone home at some point during the night and ended up staying up to try and come up with a proposal that would satisfy the board of directors. _Though at this point, I'm just trying to satisfy Stark. _I sneezed loudly, rolling over in my bed with a groan as my alarm went off. _I've got work. Got to get up._ I slowly crawled out from under the blankets, unable to tell whether I wanted to stay under them permanently or throw them off and never touch them again. I was feverish, skin clammy and head pounding. Staying outside Tony's porch for the last few days had done nothing for my already exhausted body, adding a cold on top of it. I pushed through it though, knowing that I was supposed to meet with Obadiah and him later this evening as well as getting some work done.

I slipped on my dress shirt and jeans after a shower, begrudgingly bypassing the sweats and hoodie I wanted to lounge in until my cold would go away and headed out. The trip there felt far too long in my dazed state and once I pulled into the drive with two large cups of coffee beside me, I didn't feel much better. I sank into my desk chair with a heavy sigh, pulling out the files I needed and grimacing as I slid the one about Obadiah into a locked drawer. _I still haven't been able to tell him about that yet. I really need to._ I rubbed at my temples, downing some medication with my next gulp of the black coffee, and letting out a long breath. I cracked my neck and stretched out my fingers, before sinking into the pile of papers on my desk.

I don't know when Pepper finally knocked on the door, a bit dazed from fever and pushing through it as best I could to finish up some more emails to an awaiting company that was threatening to back out of a four-year contract with Stark Industries. _God, you'd think they'd realize that picking at the fine print won't get them anywhere. He's still working for the best interests of the company. Just because it doesn't suit __**their**__ interests doesn't mean—_A hand touched my shoulder and I jolted violently, knocking a mostly empty cup of coffee onto a file and cursing as I scrambled to dab at it with some napkins.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I thought you heard me come in," Pepper apologized, scooping up the file and dabbing at it as well.

"No, sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I can't see on that side," I answered idly, my mental filter down and out of the count at the moment apparently.

"What?"

I realized what I'd said then and grimaced. "I… I thought you knew," I muttered, pointing out the two pale scars intersecting my left eyebrow as I waved vaguely at my eye before turning my eyes back to the file, making sure it wasn't ruined. _Though I have copies I can reprint._

"Oh… No, I'm sorry. I didn't…." Pepper apologized, eyeing me for a second.

"It's not in my file?" I questioned, putting away the rest of my paperwork and tossing the empty cup.

She shook her head. "We only look at past business ventures, not medical history."

"Lucky me." I glanced at her. "Don't tell Stark?"

She cracked a slight smile. "I won't. He'll either figure it out or he won't. He's not the most observant person when it comes to things like that."

I felt my shoulders relax slightly, before feeling a sneeze coming on. It happened a moment later, followed by two more before I groaned.

"Are you all right?" Pepper asked in concern. "I can ask them to reschedule if you're not well."

I waved her off. "No, no. He's finally agreed to meet again. Can't waste that chance, especially if Obadiah is supposed to join us. He'll have more info as to what the board is up to."

"Are you sure?"

"It's just a cold. I'll be fine," I waved her off. "I'll even take a sick day tomorrow if that'll make you feel better."

"You sound like him," she muttered, making me raise a brow as we headed out.

"Who?"

"Tony. Always thinking about work, even before himself."

I shrugged. "It's just how I've handled things. Like I said before, I've been where he's at. I still haven't quite gotten over the whole 'burying myself in work' thing, and… he's given me more work than ever."

"Just let me know if there's anything I can do," she pressed, eyeing me in concern.

I smiled a little. "You do enough already, Potts."

She gave me a ride to Tony's home, telling me something surprising. "He's secretly glad, you know."

"Hm?"

"Tony. He seems confused, but he asked the other day. About why you don't question him about anything. Nothing personal, I mean. Like his…" She tapped her chest and I remembered the glowing blue bits of metal and wire he had there.

"Oh, well… I don't like people prying into my business. Figured I'd offer him the same curtesy."

"That's what I told him, but he's suspicious."

I snorted. "When is he not? I'm serious though. I don't like prying, lawyer or otherwise. I only did it a bit the first time we met because he was being rather stubborn about things. Besides, you guys have my file. A good part of me is already out in the open and it's not my job to dig into yours unless it pertains to my business."

"But we don't know everything. He doesn't know about…" She glanced over at my left eye again. "Can I… What happened?"

"Car accident," I told her, though I knew that wasn't more than a small fragment of the truth of what happened. "Some shrapnel managed to nick my eye in just the right place. My vision on that side is just dark shapes. I was going to be a physicist before, maybe do computer coding, but hard to do that when my depth perception and vision is off, so I switched tracks. Had no choice."

"Sorry."

I shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it. Doctors fixed me up as best they could on my budget, and I owe them just for getting _some_ vision, among other things. I just try not to let it get to me. I'm better off than most people after something like that. I can't be the top lawyer in the country, but I can get close, and that's good enough."

The look she sent me told me that she didn't believe that statement, but she was right. I hated not being able to be the best just because I was physically handicapped. Knowing that nothing could change that didn't make it hurt any less. I did what I could to keep up in my previous studies with computers and physics, but even I could tell that I was falling behind other students in that area after the incident. There was no point in struggling for something impossible, so I'd changed over to something that _was_. I wasn't as happy as I could be working in an office instead of in a lab, but it would do.

"Thank you," she said then as we pulled up into the drive.

"Hm? For what?"

"Helping him," she smiled, though I caught the hint of something bitter tucked away behind her eyes. "I've been trying for ages, but you were able to drag him out of the lab and get him talking again. I'm glad."

She climbed out and I took a second to let her words register in my mind before shaking my head and heading out after her. Obadiah showed up not much later, stepping in with a pizza box as Pepper smiled politely at him and went to try and get Tony's attention. Obadiah headed over to the coffee table where I was seated looking over some files, and I politely lifted my eyes to greet him.

"Hello, Mr. Stane. How did your meeting with the board go?"

He raised a brow and gestured to the pizza box. "How do you think?"

"Ah, not well then," I concluded easily, removing my glasses and packing the paperwork away so he had room to put the box down.

"No, not really. How has work been here?" He asked, settling in beside me as I moved the papers out of sight. "You're looking a bit pale."

_Damn, it's getting noticeable._ "Well, you know how he is. Every move he makes is five new files on my desk. I'm just trying to get through them all."

"Don't push yourself too hard," he chuckled lightly. "You might end up like Michael did."

_That… sounded vaguely threatening. Note to self, find out from Scott if anything happened between him and Obadiah._ Pepper sighed then, drawing my attention to her.

"I'm going to go downstairs and get him. It's either too loud for him to hear the intercom or he's absorbed in his work."

I cracked a small smile. "Okay. Remind me to bug him about getting a peek down there one day. I'm curious just how mad-scientist he is."

She smiled a little back and went down with a box and cup of tea, while Obadiah got up and moved to the piano after grabbing a drink.

"You play?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation light for now and as far away from business as I could get.

"I do. Not as much as I used to, but just enough to get by on a stressful day," Obadiah hummed, starting to lightly press the keys. "Do you do anything similar? Maybe a sport to destress?"

"I probably should," I remarked, closing my eyes and tipping my head back against the couch tiredly. "Haven't in a long while. I did kung fu in college and archery for a bit after I got hired before I stopped having the time and energy to go."

"You should find something. Keeping it all in is never good for anyone."

I hummed, tipping my head back up quickly and nearly giving myself whiplash when I heard a noise downstairs. I exchanged a look with Obadiah, before getting up and moving to the top of the steps.

"You two okay down there?" I called out, waiting a moment before Pepper called back up.

"Yes, we're fine!" She said, appearing on the stairs a second later. "He said he'll be right up."

"That's a change from the last time I was here," Obadiah chuckled. "Glad to see he's becoming less reclusive already."

She and I returned to the couch.

"Only because of Jess," she commented, making me roll my eyes.

"I only pissed him off and nearly lost my job because of it."

"Oh, that's rare," Obadiah replied, shooting me a look. "I don't think he's ever lost his temper enough to fire someone. What did you do?"

"Like I said, I upset him. Sometimes it works, other times, I'm out of a job."

He laughed. "Oh, I like you then. You've got some spunk in you, Jess!"

I lifted my own glass in acknowledgment as he played on and Tony soon made his way up the stairs.

"How'd it go?" He asked, earning a look from Obadiah before Tony spotted the pizza box. "Oh. Went that bad, huh?"

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad," Obadiah claimed, though we all knew better.

"Uh-huh. Sure doesn't. Oh, boy. You want some of this, Jess?"

I blinked, but accepted a slice, giving Pepper a nudge to see if she wanted one, but she shook her head no.

"Would have gone better if you were there," Obadiah retorted, stopping his playing and grabbing his drink as he headed over.

"Uh-uh," Tony argued. "You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low and you and Jess take care of all the—" He wiped at his mouth as Obadiah held out his arms.

"Hey, come on. In public. The press," Obadiah specified. "This was a board of director's meeting."

"This was a board of director's meeting?" Tony questioned, and I grunted around a mouthful of pizza.

"I told you they were getting antsy."

"The board is claiming you have posttraumatic stress," Obadiah informed. "They're filing an injunction."

"A what?"

"They want to lock you out."

"Why? 'Cause the stocks dipped forty points? We knew that was gonna happen."

"Fifty-six and a half," Pepper corrected, making him whip to her.

"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

"But the board is the one who has to get the shareholder's agreement on those changes," I explained to him. "So, yes. You can tell the company to stop making weapons, but if the shareholders are fighting against it, then they have the right to speak with the board of directors to try and change that. I told you, Mr. Stark, you've upset a lot of people."

"They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest," Obadiah added, angering him further.

"I'm being responsible. That's a new direction for me—for the company. I mean me, on the company's behalf. Being responsible for the way that…" Tony said, earning a look from Obadiah and a sigh from Pepper. He shot me a look then. "And don't call me Mr. Stark. Weren't you supposed to be fixing this?"

"She's doing everything she can," Obadiah defended me.

"Oh, this is great," Tony complained, undoubtedly feeling some sort of frustration at the disbelieving looks he was receiving and getting up.

"Oh, come on. Hey. Tony," Obadiah tried to stop him as he took the pizza box with him. "Tony."

"I'll be in the shop."

Obadiah shot me a look, as though silently asking me to stop him, but this was on him. _I've been working with him as best I can. You lot are trying to change him to work with you. I'm not helping in that._ Sighing, Obadiah got up and hurried after him, catching him by the shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey. Tony, listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you've got to give me something. Something to pitch them."

I went to say we'd been trying that, but he didn't give me the chance as he pointed at Tony's chest piece.

"Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs—"

"No."

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

"No! Absolutely not! This stays with me. That's it, Obi. Forget it."

"All right. Well, this stays with me then." Obadiah took the pizza box back. "Go on. Here. You can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you." Tony snatched another slice of pizza, making for the stairs.

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?" Obadiah called after him.

"Goodnight, Obi."

Obadiah sighed as I huffed.

"Now, you've gone and done it," I complained, shooting him a look over the couch. "I thought we were going to try and get somewhere today."

"I _did_ try, Jess. He's just not going to work with us."

"That's not the way I see it," I argued, getting up as well once I finished my drink—ignoring the dizziness that overcame me for a brief second.

"Oh, what would you know? You only met him a few days ago."

"And in those few days, I've managed to get him to meet with us, discuss business propositions to give to the board, and get him semi-functioning again," I countered, shooting him a small glare of annoyance. "I'm _trying_, as you said. What you're doing? You're trying to get him to change to work with you and the board. Give him a chance to call the shots. Let _him_ come up with something by giving him ideas to work with like I am. Maybe then, you'll get somewhere. Poking at his sore spots—that device, how responsible he is or isn't—that's just going to get him to shut down again!"

Obadiah glared, shoving the pizza back at me. "Then, _you_ deal with him. And if I don't hear something back in the next few days, just remember that you're hired by the company too. He's not the only one who can fire you."

He stormed out and I rubbed at my aching head, setting the box aside as I leaned heavily on the back of the couch.

"Like I don't have enough on my plate?" I complained under my breath. "I'm _trying_, dammit."

Pepper got up in concern when my legs suddenly wobbled and gave out from under me. "Oh, God. Jess? Jess, are you okay?"

"Sorry. Sorry," I apologized as she grabbed my elbow and helped me up and around the couch. "I just… I need to sit down for a minute."

Her hand brushed over my forehead as she lightly pushed me down onto the couch. "You're burning up. I can call a car to take you home. Is there someone I can call?"

"No, no. It's fine. Call the car."

"Absolutely not," she argued. "You shouldn't be alone like this!" She took a step away. "I'll go get Tony. We'll call a doctor and set you up in a guest bedroom."

"Pepper. Pepper! Don't—" I cut myself off and let out a sigh.

She'd already disappeared downstairs and as I sank into the pillows and drew my arm over my eyes, I resisted the urge to scream, clenching my teeth.

"Dammit," I spat, chin wobbling slightly as my eyes burned. "…dammit."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony was growing frustrated with what he was working on, soon giving up for the moment and running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. He was distracted, which wasn't good for the delicate work he was trying to do.

"Jarvis, update."

"_Her temperature has risen, sir, and Miss Potts has left already for work, leaving you in charge of her._"

Tony sighed, begrudgingly pushing up from the desk and heading upstairs. He hadn't asked for Jess to collapse in his home the night before, nor did he want to be the one taking care of her. He'd have Pepper do it, but she apparently was desperately needed at work with the lawyer out of commission. And despite it all, he kind of liked the spunky woman. He'd overheard what she'd done to defend him from Obadiah and felt he owed her something for that, especially when she collapsed not long after.

"What did the doctor say?"

"_Exhaustion mostly. She's been hooked up to an IV for fluid intake and is on medication for her cold-like symptoms,_" Jarvis replied as he lightly nudged open the door to the guest bedroom.

Jess was sweating under the blankets that she'd unconsciously half-pushed off her body, brows furrowed and lightly shivering. It was a sad sight to see and Tony slowly moved over to pull the blankets back over her, only to pause. He'd forgotten Pepper had changed her into something more comfortable, but the tee-shirt was a little small, revealing a hint of her stomach and clinging tightly to her broad shoulders. _I should have offered one of my shirts, she might be more comfortable._ But what drew his attention then, were the pale white scars trailing up her arms and stomach.

"Jarvis, analyze these and give me information on her medical background."

A blue light ran over Jess before the AI answered.

"_Marks indicate sharp trauma and burns. Judging by the size and shape, the burns are possibly from cigarettes. All injuries are over twelve years old. I have her medical files ready for viewing._"

"Let me see them," he said quietly, brows furrowed as he covered Jess up and checked on her IV before walking out.

The files appeared over the coffee table as he grabbed a strong drink, settling before them and flipping through them with a frown. _What the hell happened to her? Only one hospital visit before twelve years ago for a broken arm when she was eleven. Then, a major hospital visit around the same time as the car accident._ He expanded that file, looking through it as he slipped on his glasses, his frown deepening.

"Is this right, Jarvis?"

"_Yes, sir. According to her files, she is almost completely blind in the left eye due to trauma from the car accident._"

He took off his glasses and sat back on the couch, staring at the report for a while. "But that doesn't explain the scars other than the ones on her eyebrow… Child abuse? Jarvis, give me information on her parents."

Another file replaced the medical ones.

"_Janette Wilson. Deceased at thirty-one due to a sudden heart attack on the way to pick up Jess from school. She had a degree in Advanced Mathematics and used to work in a military airplane hangar where she met her husband, Samuel Norris, a mechanic._"

"More information on Samuel Norris."

"_Deceased at fifty-nine in a car accident, though police believed there was foul play involved._"

"What kind of foul play?" He asked, a police report appearing in front of him.

"_The police officer in charge, one Jason Gorge, stated in his report that the young woman involved in the incident had injuries that didn't coincide with the blast from the car. A firefighter on the case also further reported that the car was fully functional and wouldn't have crashed without human intervention._"

"Analyze the crime scene, recreate the accident, and inform me of what you find."

Tony waited a moment for the computer to do as he said, watching as a hologram of a street was brought up and the situation from the reports playing out over it. Jess was lying on the ground outside the car and her father trapped inside before they were brought back upright and situated the way they would have been before the crash. Tony's gaze hardened as he watched the heavier man slam a fist hard into the left side of Jess's head, sending her smacking into the window. He then grabbed a hold of her throat and slammed her into the glass again, before Tony stopped the scene.

"Stop it."

The image flickered, and he stood, moving over to the side and expanding the image on Jess's right hand. She'd grabbed a tire iron under the dashboard.

"She caused the crash," he concluded, looking to the image of Samuel half-strangling Jess. "He was abusing her, _had_ _**been**_ abusing her, so she took matters into her own hands and…" He snapped his fingers and the image shifted as Jess whipped the tire iron up and slammed it across his head, making him lose control of the car as she opened the door and threw herself out. "This is why she changed majors, why she spoke about trauma like she knew. She caused the accident to kill her abusive father, rendering herself mostly blind on her left side. What do you think, Jarvis?"

"_An accurate conclusion, sir._"

"Do you think she's genuine?" He questioned, waving the hologram away and downing the rest of his drink.

"_While I am not capable of determining human characteristics and personality, she has been doing her best to ensure you remain in control of your company, sir._"

"She's a lawyer. It's her job."

"_Yet, your previous lawyer was not nearly as invested,_" Jarvis countered. "_She has logged in more hours than most of your employees do in a month, which may also play into account her ill health._"

Tony frowned at the ceiling. "You better not be saying this is my fault."

"_On the contrary, sir. I believe you and her share similarities, in so much that you both tend to overwork yourselves when passionate about something you're working on. So, to answer your question, yes. I do believe she is acting genuinely._"

Tony cracked a small smile, heading back down to his lab. "How do you think she is with her hands?"

"_Sir?_"

"The daughter of a mathematician and airplane mechanic? I'm sure she's picked up a few things. Perhaps she can help with work on the aerodynamics, don't you think?"

* * *

I sat up with a groan, pushing the covers off my shoulders and bringing a hand to my head. I felt much better than before, though still weak, which bothered me.

"What time is it?" I muttered, looking for my phone only to jump when someone spoke from my left side.

"About nine-thirty at night two days after you collapsed." Tony moved around the bed, waving a hand in my blind spot. "So, you really can't see from that side, huh?"

I shot him a slightly annoyed look. "Looked up my medical records?"

"Among other things. Your father was a real piece of work, wasn't he?"

I bristled, realizing just _how much_ he knew. "How did you—"

"3D crime scene reconstruction," he replied. "I'm not going to report you if that's what you're worried about. From what I've seen, it looks like he deserved it."

His eyes had drifted to my arms and I realized how exposed I was in one of Pepper's shirts. I rubbed at one of my scarred arms uneasily, but his eyes shifted away as he made for the door.

"You're welcome to stay for the next few days. In fact, I highly recommend it. I've already had Pepper put in your request for time off, and as CEO, I've already approved it."

"W-What?" I gaped. "But I have work to do! I've got to find something for the board a-and deal with the companies that are—"

"Overworking put you here," he cut me off, giving me a look over his shoulder. "And as much as I would have liked to ship you back home where you could just pop back up and nag me about more business ventures the moment you were able to walk, I think you might actually be able to help me here."

I didn't know what to say, feeling a little raw after everything he'd just dumped on me—from him knowing about my father and abuse, to the fact that my disability apparently has done nothing more than make him a little curious.

"You can wear some of my spare clothes. I left them in the bathroom, and once you're done getting cleaned up, grab something to eat and meet me downstairs. I've got something you might be interested in."

And then he was gone. _Like a bloody tornado. What the hell just happened?_ I somehow composed myself enough to get up and walk to the bathroom, my gaze shifting to the mirror over the sink. I was still pale, but the dark bags that had been under my eyes had lightened up with the rest I'd gotten. I was a little gaunt and my stomach grumbled lightly to remind me I needed to eat something soon before I turned away and began to strip to shower, feeling sticky from sweat. I grimaced, feeling achy and rubbing at my right arm in annoyance. It was the arm my father had broken when I was eleven.

I pushed the thoughts of him from my mind as I let the hot water roll down my body, running over scars that burned when I thought of the man. As I washed though, I noticed how much thinner I looked than before. _I really have been working too hard. Maybe I should do what Obadiah said and get a hobby again. Start up jogging in the mornings, and maybe finding a gym or something. Archery might be better this time around. Something more relaxing than trying to knock out an opponent._ I sighed, stepping out and getting dressed in a long-sleeved sweatshirt that was just a few sizes too big and a pair of sweatpants that required me tying the drawstrings to keep them around my waist. After running my fingers through my hair, I headed for the kitchen to get something to eat. Curious, I looked up at the ceiling.

"Jarvis, right?"

"_Yes, Miss Norris. How may I assist you?_"

I cracked a small smile. "Jess is fine. Just thought you could recommend something for me to eat and where I can find it. I'm not exactly someone who lives here, so I don't know where everything's at."

"_Of course. Might I suggest cooking an omelet or perhaps, if you want something easier, there is cereal in the cupboard just above the microwave._"

"Cereal it is," I hummed, moving to the fridge and getting out what I needed. "Bowls?"

"_Above the oven, Miss Jess._"

I rolled my eyes at how the AI addressed me but pulled out the bowls. "Has Mr. St—Tony eaten?"

"_No._"

"Well, I'll be sure to make up two then," I hummed, picking a cereal box at radon. "Spoons?"

"_Second cupboard on the right._"

Knowing that Tony was probably pacing by now while waiting for me, I made my way down the stairs curiously, suddenly realizing that he'd invited me down to his lab which was obviously his personal sanctum. _I thought I'd have to beg to get brought down here, seeing as he didn't even consider letting Obadiah step foot in the place._ I stopped at a glass door, watching as Jarvis input the code and let me in, giving me the chance to slide past the metal scattered around and take a good look at the place.

"I, uh, brought you some cereal," I said lightly, setting it down on a bare spot on a table as I looked around, curiosity heightened. "Nice place for a basement."

Tony shot me a slightly annoyed look. "You're just going to keep calling it that, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah," I nodded, taking a bite of my food as he worked on some sort of metal glove-like casing. "You should eat."

He hummed, setting his tools aside and grabbing the bowl.

"So, uh… why bring me down here?" I asked, still looking around curiously. "I thought this was someplace personal. Your little getaway. I get Pepper, but I'm just your lawyer."

"A lawyer who wanted to be a physicist and was raised by a mathematician and airplane mechanic," Tony corrected as we both finished our food. "You see, I'm working on something top secret. Something that nobody can know about and I think you can help me."

I raised a brow. "You trust me—someone you met maybe a few weeks ago—more than Obadiah, who you've known for years?"

"Pepper likes you." He shrugged, setting his bowl down and getting up. "You brought me breakfast. What more could I want?"

"Uh, proof that I'm worth it?" I argued, getting up. "I mean, this is cool and all, but—"

"You're arguing. Why are you arguing?"

"Because it seems a little crazy to just let me—"

"Crazy? Me? Or you? You're the one who attacked your father."

My eyebrow twitched. "And you're the one who just got tortured in Afghanistan only to pop back up and take down your own company. Remind me again why I work for you?"

He smirked. "Because you enjoy it."

I scoffed. "Hardly. I just collapsed because of you."

"I didn't force you to overwork yourself. You did that all on your own."

"Well, if you would just run your company for once—"

"Oh, here we go," he drawled moving over to what he'd been working on and starting to put it on over his arms and legs.

"Look. I'm just saying that you trusting me right off the bat like this is a bit suspicious."

"I thought you could help me, and you've been helping me so far, haven't you? I've not lost the company yet."

"But that's completely different! I don't know the slightest thing about mechanics or weapons manufacturing or anything like that. How can I help you here?"

"Because I'm not making a weapon," he replied, grinning at me as I eyed his getup curiously. "I'm trying to fly."

My eyes snapped up to his smiling face with a hint of disbelief. "You're nuts."

"I'm a visionary."

"Yeah, a crazy one," I grumbled, running a hand through my hair as I sat down in a seat, feeling a headache coming on. "All right, fine. You've got me curious and if this all goes to hell, it's your own fault."

He raised a brow. "So, you won't tell the company?"

"What for? Apparently, I could be losing my job if you lost the company. Telling them you're trying to fly is a sure-as-hell way to lose it and therefore my job. Besides, it's interesting. You got me there."

"Great! So, take a look. What do you think?" He asked, holding out his arms and I sighed, getting up to inspect the mechanics he had on.

"You're just working on the thrusters?"

He nodded. "I'll figure out a more aerodynamic design later. Getting up in the air comes first."

I hummed, fingering some flaps on his calves. "Stabilizers seem good. I take it you're going to hook this up to a computer system of some kind? Something to make sure the input and output of the thrusters are regulated alongside the stabilizers to ensure they turn on when they're supposed to?"

He raised a brow. "I thought you didn't know mechanics."

"I know enough," I replied, getting up and coughing into my elbow. "My father wasn't a complete waste of life, and my mother learned a lot too and taught me."

"She was nice?"

I hummed. "Yeah, just didn't quite understand that a four-year-old didn't get advanced microphysics. Still tried though." I nodded to his partial suit. "Have you tried flying it yet?"

"Repeatedly. This will be test thirty-seven. Though previous tests involved rather… painful headaches."

I blinked. "You just put it on and went for it, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

I sighed. "Start with the thrusters at the lowest output possible. If you're not getting the desired lift, increase it little by little. Honestly, I thought you were smart? Everyone knows you don't go all out the first go."

"All right. We'll do it your way," he huffed, moving to a more open area and waving over a robot with a camera and another with a fire extinguisher. "Day eleven, test thirty-seven, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dum-E is still on fire safety." He turned to the robot with the extinguisher. "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."

I snorted as the robot gave a fearful squeak, settling back in my chair to watch.

"All right. Nice and easy. Just gonna start off with one percent thrust capacity, as recommended by Jess, my newest helper."

I gave the camera a little wave when it turned towards me.

"In 3, 2, 1…"

Tony took a deep breath and flicked his hands, the thrusters igniting and sending him about a foot off the ground. I sat upright, eyeing the mechanics at work as he hovered unsteadily until shutting them off and landing again.

"Looked good," I commented. "Bit wobbly, but that's mostly due to you."

"Oi," he complained, but I waved him off.

"Shush, I said it was good, didn't I? They're sparking a bit though."

"Lack of outer covering," he grumbled. "It's just the heat reacting with dust particles in the air and spontaneously igniting them. Casing comes later. Any other tips before I increase output?"

"Yeah, just one. Don't shut it off like that. Cutting it off abruptly should you end up higher could mean broken ankles and it's not good for the knees with the extra weight. Just like lifting off the ground, slowly decrease output to land softly."

He blinked. "That was at one percent though."

"Well, if you can't go less than that, then I recommend something to help ease the pressure of landing on your body. Otherwise, look forward to an early retirement in a wheelchair."

"Well, aren't you pleasant?"

"Hey, you wanted my honest opinion. I'm just giving it out," I replied, cracking a smirk and enjoying our little banter. "Though, my other tidbit of advice would be doing this outside. Toying around with flight indoors near expensive vehicles doesn't exactly seem safe for you or the cars."

"It'll be fine."

Dum-E shifted the nozzle of its fire extinguisher and Tony held his hands up at the robot.

"Please don't follow me around with it either, because I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down. If something happens, then come in." He turned back to the camera. "And again. Let's bring it up to 2.5. 3, 2, 1…"

He was a little higher off the ground now, but I raised a brow in amusement as he began to drift around uneasily.

"Uh, little help, Jess?" He asked, swinging around and over the cars. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be. Not the cars. Not the cars. Yikes! Jess!"

"I told you to do it outside."

"Oh, stop nagging and help me out!"

"Aim your hands towards what you want to move away from, smartass." I rolled my eyes as he flew over some tables and scattered paperwork on the floor.

He listened though, bringing his hands up in front of him and drifting back towards his launch pad with a nervous chuckle.

"Could be worse. Could be worse. Could be worse. We're fine."

"Define 'fine' for me, would ya?" I teased.

"If unhelpful commentary would kindly shut up," he snipped, finally coming to a stop about three feet over the launch pad. "Okay. We're good."

"Slowly decrease output."

"I _know_," he grumbled, sinking a few feet only to cut it off the last foot down and land with a precarious wobble. "There. Not too bad."

Dum-E lifted the nozzle when he looked over at it and he hastily lifted a hand.

"Nope. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!" He shouted at it and it lowered the nozzle sadly once more, as he turned to me with a smirk. "Yeah. I can fly."

"Look at you, cool kid." I clapped slowly, before giving him a look. "So, can I go now?"

"Really? I just made a partial suit that can fly me around like a jetpack and you don't even care? What kind of helper are you?" He huffed.

"The kind that just got the best sleep of her life only because she was sick, and still feels exhausted. Also, I still have work to do, so if you don't mind, I'd like to go home now."

"Ah, ah. Nope. You're stuck here until further notice. I might still need you and I've already paid for your medical treatment, so you've got to help me."

"You know, most people would label that as extortion and kidnapping."

He smirked. "But you're not most people."

"Flattering," I drawled sarcastically, waving at him from over my shoulder as I went to the door. "I'll be upstairs trying to come up with a way to keep your company from falling into shambles. If I don't see you up there by the time lunch comes around, I'll grab you something from the kitchen."

He frowned. "That's not the kind of help I wanted."

"But it's the kind you're getting," I countered. "Jarvis, remind him when it's lunchtime, would ya?"

"_Of course, Miss Jess._"

Tony scowled, muttering under his breath. "Traitor."

"Have fun, Stark. I'll see you in a few hours. Try not to smash your head through the ceiling while I'm gone."

* * *

A few days had passed since Tony first dragged me down to his lab to watch him hover. Since then, I'd only gone down to drop off food when Pepper wasn't around, and he'd only come upstairs to get me to look over design modifications to his suit. It was probably around day four that I realized I never asked him _why_ he was making it, but I'd fallen asleep sending emails and researching mechanical advancements in a vain attempt to appease the board of directors. I still felt no closer to appeasing them than before, it and was probably Obadiah who was the only one keeping the company afloat at the moment. _I forgot to tell Tony about him…_ I thought idly, rolling over on the couch with an incomprehensible murmur under my breath, still mostly asleep. Or at least, I _was_ asleep, until something came crashing through the ceiling, onto the piano, and into the floor below.

I jerked upright, heart racing and dazed mind suddenly in a panic, waiting to hear drunken shouts and glass bottles shattering against the wall. For a moment, I couldn't catch my breath, fear welling up tightly in my chest as my hands clenched tight around the blanket. Then, the ringing in my ears faded and gave way to car alarms from down in the basement. My heart rate slowed, and my shoulders sagged as the panic from before vanished, leaving me exhausted and covered in a cold sweat. I let out a shuddering breath, running my hand through my hair as I doubled over and cradled my head above my knees.

"_Is everything all right, Miss Jess?_" Jarvis asked, and I grunted.

"No, not really."

"_Is there anything I can assist you with?_"

"I take it that was Tony crashing through the ceiling?"

"_Affirmative. He was taking a test flight regardless of my warnings._"

"Typical. I'll grab him a drink. Point me in the direction of the medicine cabinet, would you? Knowing him, he'll need something for the headache he just received."

"_Of course._"

One short trip to the bathroom and kitchen later, and I was stepped downstairs, inputting the code and handing a frustrated-looking Tony a mug of coffee, an ice pack, and something for his headache.

"Having fun?"

"I don't need your mockery right now, Jess," he complained, kicking a rolling palate across the floor, but accepting what I brought him—holding the ice pack to his head.

"Just saying. I told you to ease it down."

"I _did_, but the weight is too much for the ceiling, I suppose. Jarvis, contact the contractors to take care of the hole and just toss out the piano."

"_Yes, sir._"

He stepped over to his desk then, eyeing a package that was sitting there. "What's this?"

I blinked at the box, mind vaguely remembering it. "I think Pepper brought that down for you back when Obadiah dropped by a few days ago."

"Huh," he mused, giving me a glance. "You look pale. Getting sick again?"

"Let me drop someone through your roof while _your_ sleeping and let's see how you do."

"Right," he hummed, looking the box over and beginning to pull off the paper. "Tell me, how do airplanes handle ice at high altitudes?"

I shot him a look, settling in a chair and sipping my own drink. "How high were you going?"

"High enough. Suggestions?" He asked, revealing a glass box with his old chest piece settled inside reading, "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart" along the rim.

"First off, get her flowers or something for that," I said, gesturing to the gift. "She does way too much for you to do nothing."

"I meant suggestions about the ice."

I sighed, ticking the options off my fingers. "Electro-thermal system, pneumatic deicing rubber, electro-mechanical expulsion systems, or the TKS ice protection system."

"What's that last one?" He asked curiously.

"Fluid-based ice protection system," I rattled off, remembering my mother's beaming face as she explained it to a fascinated seven-year-old me. "They cover critical surfaces of planes with a glycol-based fluid to prevent ice forming. Though, they also push fluid out of laser-cut holes in various parts of the plane."

"Interesting. I'll look into it, and you're right."

"Shocking," I snorted into my mug.

"I do owe her flowers."

"I think you owe her a bit more than that."

"Meh." He shrugged, shifting the ice pack to his shoulder as he took a seat beside me and got Jarvis to bring up imaging of his suit. "Notes: main transducer feels sluggish at plus forty altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic and I'm thinking icing is a probable factor."

"No shit," I replied, the same time Jarvis made a snide comment.

"_A __**very**__ astute observation, sir._"

"Oh, ha, ha," he complained. "Mark down the suggestions Jess offered and look into which would work best for this system. Connect to the Sys. Co., have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the Seraphim Tactical Satellite. That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power to weight ration. Got it?"

"_Yes. Shall I render using the proposed specifications?_"

"Thrill me."

I blinked at the ramble that came out of Tony's mouth and eyed the green drink he was having instead of the rest of his coffee. "You know, I understood maybe half of what you just said, but I'm more worried about how hard you hit your head coming down if you're drinking some green sludge."

"It's a vegetable drink infused with fruits for taste. You're welcome to try it."

I waved a hand at the drink. "Nah, I'm good. I'll stick with coffee, thanks."

We glanced at the television then, showing some fancy party that rang a bell in the back of my mind.

"_Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society,_" the newscaster announced as my eyes widened.

"Oh, shit. I completely forgot."

"Language," Tony chided. "Jarvis, we get an invite for that?"

"_I have no record of an invitation, sir._"

"Not good," I muttered, bringing a hand up and rubbing at my jaw. "They're shutting you out of social gatherings now. Get you out of the public spotlight, and it'll be easier to usurp you later."

Tony was fiddling with his mask for the suit as the announcer went on.

"…_hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Others claim that due to his lawyer's also untimely vacation, the two might be off somewhere enjoying the sunshine on a beach, leaving the company in charge of Obadiah Stane. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight._"

"Great," I grumbled. "My boss is going to kill me. This is what happens when I stay away from work for too long."

"It's fine." Tony waved off. "Technically, _I'm_ your boss now and you've been working from home. Rumors are just that, rumors."

"Yes, but rumors bring uncertainty, especially when they concern the head of a large business that's currently facing criticism for said head's sudden business decision."

"Has anyone ever told you, you worry too much?"

"Being cautious has kept me alive. I'm not going to stop now."

There was a beat of silence before Jarvis interrupted.

"_The render is complete._"

We both looked over at the bright gold suit and I grimaced.

"Flaunting much?"

"Bit ostentatious, I agree."

"_What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet,_" Jarvis replied cheekily, making me chuckle as the previous tension was wiped away.

"Jarvis, can I marry you for that sarcasm?"

"_I appreciate the gesture, Miss Jess, though I do not recommend wedding an intelligent computer system._"

I waved Jarvis off as Tony rolled his eyes.

"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

"_Yes, that should help you keep a low profile,_" Jarvis quipped again but did as he asked. "_The render is complete._"

"Hey, surprisingly not bad, though still a bit out there. But then again, you're going to be flying around in a metal suit. Why not be obvious?" I mused, eyeing the paint job as Tony nodded.

"I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it."

"_Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours._"

"Don't wait up for me, honey," he hummed checking his watch and getting up. "You have an invitation to this thing, Jess?"

"What?" I questioned, getting up and following after him as he started up the stairs. "The benefit?"

"That's what we've been discussing. Do keep up."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Well, yeah, I have an invite. Are you actually thinking about going?"

"Well, they don't expect me there, which is disappointing. What sort of CEO would I be if I didn't show up to my own benefit?"

_A smart one,_ I thought, putting a hand on his arm to stop him. "But this is a formal get-together. I don't have anything here."

"Just grab something of Pepper's."

"First off, rude. Second, we're different sizes, and third, I'm not going to riffle through someone's closet when they're not here."

He turned, looking me up and down with a frown, before nodding to himself. "Right. What was I thinking? In here."

"What?" I gaped, seeing as we were standing outside his bedroom.

"You heard me. In. I'm pretty sure I've got some old suits that might work."

"God, you're a right pain in the ass. I hope you know that."

"Again, language," he chided. "And yeah. I think I've been called that before."

I groaned as he lightly pushed me into the bedroom. "You know they're going to add to the rumors when we show up together and I'm wearing your clothes."

"Ah, let them. Though, I'm curious to see what Obadiah will think."

My expression faltered, catching his attention.

"What?"

"I'll tell you in the car," I muttered, giving him a look as he passed over a suit and I made for the bathroom to change. "But you're not going to like it."

* * *

"Christ! Can you drive a _little_ slower?" Jess complained as Tony fought to loosen the muscles in his jaw.

"You expect me to slow down when I've just found out that it might be Obadiah who's been selling those weapons to terrorists?"

"Yeah, actually. For _my_ safety?" She urged. "I get you're upset but speeding and risking a car accident isn't exactly the best thing to do." She tightened her grip on the door handle and armrest, hissing through her teeth and closing her eyes as he sped around a large truck. "G-God dammit. Just _please_ slow down!"

"_According to her files, she is almost completely blind in the left eye due to trauma from the car accident."_

Tony begrudgingly slowed the car to safer speeds at remembering Jess's previous trauma, though he still felt antsy even as she relaxed her death grip with a sigh of relief.

"T-Thank you," she muttered shakily, passing a hand through her hair. "For the suit too. I'm… sorry I didn't warn you about Obadiah sooner."

"It's fine. I wouldn't have believed you before," he admitted, sparing her a brief glance as they neared the event. "Besides, I'm going to need your help confronting him."

"_Here_?" She hissed as they pulled to a stop at the curb and got out—him handing the keys off. "Are you _nuts?_ You can't make a scene, Tony! You showing up out of the blue after the conference and adding more trouble to that will only make things worse! To the rest of the world, that's two possible mental breakdowns in a row! You're _asking_ for your company to get taken!"

"I'll handle it, Jess. Stop worrying," he chided her, earning a groan in response as they both plastered on cheerful faces to appease the whooping women and cameramen who'd spotted them. "Just play it cool."

"Says you," she muttered through a tense smile, nodding politely at some people nearby.

"Hey, Tony. Remember me?" A buxom blonde questioned him as they walked past.

"Sure don't."

Jess lightly pinched his side, earning a frown as she went over to the woman and apologized. "So sorry about him. He's forgetful. If you need him for anything, just give this number a call."

She handed out a business card that the woman huffed at before walking off without it, leaving Tony to raise a brow at Jess.

"This is what you do to settle lawsuits?"

Jess's eyebrow twitched. "This is what I do to get those not interested in business ventures to not sue, yes. Doesn't always work, but most women don't want to deal with the smiling possible secretary over the real person, so they leave in the hopes I won't be around later to bug you. Now, shut up and _walk_."

He cracked a small smile, spotting a familiar face on the carpet holding two women, patting the older man's shoulder as he passed. "You look great, Hef."

Jess smiled at Hugh Hefner with a small nod of greeting but was quick to catch up to Tony as he approached Obadiah with the smile slipping right off his face.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" He asked Obadiah with a hint of bite to his tone that the other man didn't notice.

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise." Obadiah looked just over his shoulder, catching sight of Jess as she adjusted the sleeves of the suit she was borrowing. "Brought your little tag-a-long too, I see."

"I was invited," Jess countered, shooting him a look that was colder than intended, making Obadiah frown for a second before Tony grabbed her arm and got his attention.

"I'll see you inside."

"Uh, hey. Listen, uh, take it slow. I think I got the board right where we want them."

Tony didn't answer, looking to Jess. "Let's go."

She didn't really have a say, getting tugged by him into the noisy venue and up to the bar where he ordered a couple of scotches.

"_Tony_," Jess hissed, jerking her arm slightly and forcing him to let go. "Please don't jerk me around. I've dealt with that for years and don't plan on dealing with it again, so I _will_ throw you to the ground next time."

"Right. Sorry," he muttered, having forgotten he'd been holding her arm as tightly as he had been.

He was just so angry at Obadiah—

"Mr. Stark?"

_God, what now?_ He turned to the man who smiled politely at him, barely recognizing the dark-haired man. "Yeah?"

"Agent Coulson."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the…"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"God, you need a new name for that."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions and time can be a factor with these things. Let's just put something on the books. How about the 24th at 7 pm at Stark Industries?"

Tony had heard maybe half of what he was blabbering on about, having caught sight of Pepper in the crowd. Or, more accurately, her bare back.

"Tell you what," he informed the man, placing a hand on Jess's shoulder as she took her drink. "This is my lawyer, Jess Norris. Jess, this is Agent Collins—"

"Coulson."

"Right, Agent Coulson from uh, some agency with a long name. You two figure something out. I'm going to go to my assistant and make sure there's space on my calendar. Jess, come see me in a bit."

"To—Mr. Stark!" She argued, but he was already moving swiftly across the floor and she sighed, turning to the agent with a small frown. "Agent Coulson from where?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Right. Normally, I'm civil, but that sounds fake as hell. So, explain, _Agent Coulson_, or you're about to have quite a few lawsuits tucked into that shiny new suit of yours."

Tony, oblivious to what had just happened with Jess, reached Pepper and called out to her over the noise. "You look fantastic. I didn't recognize you."

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her polite smile faltering when she saw who it was.

"Just avoiding government agents," he answered pleasantly.

"Are you by yourself?"

"God, no. I sent Jess after him." He threw a thumb over his shoulder where Pepper peeked around to see Jess with a serious frown on her face as she spoke with Agent Coulson.

"You're going to owe her for that," she mused, turning her gaze back to Tony as he took a quick glance as well, wincing. "She doesn't look pleased and I recognize that face. She's about ready to sue someone on your behalf again."

He raised a brow. "Again?"

Pepper cracked a small smile. "You really should pay more attention to your workers. Read some of what she's done. It's good work."

"Hm, maybe I will. Where'd you get that dress?"

"I—Oh, it was a birthday present."

"That's great," he answered, looking slightly disappointed until she continued.

"From you, actually."

"Well, I got great taste," he preened.

"Yes."

"You, uh, want to dance?"

"Oh, no."

"All right. Come on," he pressed, taking her hand.

"No—Ah."

She pursed her lips, giving Jess a small glance, but the woman was still preoccupied with Agent Coulson, so she couldn't save her as Tony led her out onto the dance floor and placed his arms around her.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked, seeing her looking at Jess and feeling how tense she was.

"No. No. I, I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my _boss_ in front of everyone that I work with in a dress with no back."

"You look great, and you smell great."

"Oh, God," she lightly chuckled at him trying to save face.

"But I could fire you if that would take the edge off."

"I don't—actually, I don't think that you could tie your shoes without me, or Jess."

"I'd make it a week."

"Really?" She challenged.

"Sure."

"What's your social security number?"

"…Five."

"Five?"

"Right."

"Right. You're missing a couple of digits there," she chuckled.

"The other eight? So, I got you for the other eight."

"Better yet, what about Jess, hm? I do believe you'd be without a company by now if it weren't for her."

"Well, don't give her too much credit."

Pepper sighed. "You honestly don't know what you have, do you? She's been staying with you for what? Five days now?"

"Four."

"Okay, four. Have you missed a meal yet?"

He blinked, thinking back and realizing that Jess had always dropped by the lab or dragged him upstairs, even when she was half asleep in order to sit down and eat with him. "I guess not."

"Better yet, you _do_ know she's been working the whole time, yes? Ever since her fever broke? She's been sending me emails for suggestions on how to appease the board of directors. Everything from mechanical toy production to environmental engineering to finding ways to save the rainforests or improve air quality. All with connections to _your_ company. And you've got her over there fighting with a narc?"

Tony began to feel a bit sheepish now that he was being called out on his treatment of Jess. "She, she doesn't mind."

"Oh, let me tell you." Pepper spun them around, so Tony could see Jess and Agent Coulson. "That face? That face says she minds. She minds a lot, but you know what? She's more like you than you think." Pepper pulled back a little with a soft smile. "She won't admit what's bothering her unless you pry it out of her. Until then, she'll grin and bear it and make little jokes and snide comments. Sound like anyone?"

"Jarvis?" he teased, earning a laugh from her before her smile dropped and she cleared her throat. "How about a little air?"

"Yes. I need some air."

They quickly released each other and stepped outside onto a balcony where she sighed.

"That was totally weird."

"Totally harmless," he argued.

"It was totally _not_ harmless, by the way."

He rolled his eyes. "You sound like Jess. We're dancing. No one's even watching."

"Everybody who I work with—No. You know why?"

"I think you lost objectivity. I think they just... people… we just danced."

"No, it was not just a dance! You don't understand because you're you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine," she hurried on to say. "But you know, then _me_, you're my boss and I'm dancing with you."

"I really don't think… I really don't think it was taken that way."

"Because it makes me look like I'm the one who's trying to… you know."

"I just think you're overstating it, that's all."

"And we're here, and then I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and we were dancing like that and…" She started to lean in, but then took a step back, realizing what she had been about to do based solely off a single dance. _With my boss, who I haven't even seen in almost a week, who is constantly with other women and… and with Jess. I just thought… No._ "I would like a drink, please," she said instead, making Tony nod with a hint of disappointment.

"Got it. Okay," he muttered, shuffling off.

"I would like a vodka martini, please."

"Okay."

"Very dry with olives, a lot of olives. Like, at least three olives."

He nodded and made his way back to the bar, surprised to not see Jess still there as he ordered. "Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast. Make one of them dirty, will you? And did you see my lawyer leave? Little shorter than me, real short curly auburn hair, dressed in a suit and talking to a boring government guy?"

"She stepped away not long after you left, Mr. Stark, sir."

"Right. Point her my way, if you get the chance."

"Of course."

"Wow, Tony Stark," someone purred from behind him and he turned slightly to see another pretty blonde.

"Oh, hey."

"Fancy seeing you here."

"…Carrie," he tried.

"Christine."

"That's right."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight," she accused, but he blinked. "Can I at least get a reaction from you?"

"Panic. I would say panic is my reaction."

"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."

"Yeah, they just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you."

"I actually almost bought it, hook line and sinker," she pressed forward.

"I was out of town for a couple of months, in case you didn't hear."

"Is this what you call accountability?" She handed him a couple of pictures. "It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?"

"When were these taken?" He asked, feeling that anger from before returning at the sight of _his_ weapons on enemy soil again.

"Yesterday."

"I didn't approve any shipment."

"Well, your company did."

"Well, I'm not my company," he replied shortly, just as Jess strolled up, picking up a drink she'd ordered and downing the shot in one go at the sight of his face. "Jess. Have you seen these?"

Christine and Jess locked eyes, and Jess's frown deepened.

"Another one?"

Christine nodded as Tony looked between them in confusion.

"You two know each other?"

"Mildly," Jess waved off, taking the photos and flipping through them as Christine explained.

"I'm an investigative journalist. She needed answers, so I brought them."

"Spotted her at the press conference," Jess rambled on, eyes narrowed at the photos. "Saw promise, looked her up. She's been giving me info as to where the weapons have been ending up."

"You didn't tell me you worked for him," Christine huffed, and Jess sighed.

"_He's_ not the one doing this. He's looking for answers just as we are. He meant what he said at the press conference. I've been trying to help him figure out who's doing this and something else for the company to focus on instead of weapons. I'm doing my best, Chris. I've been with him the last week. No shipments went through him, but he's not exactly the most intelligent CEO."

"Chris?" Tony questioned, being ignored by the two women.

"You can say that again."

"Can I keep these?" Jess asked. "I'll copy them and return them later."

"Only if I get some credit when the story gets out."

"You'll be the first to know. For now, I'll give you this. Obadiah." Jess waved down the bartender. "Her drinks are on me."

Christine's eyes widened. "Obadiah Stane? What for?"

"Think about it," Jess replied, pocketing the pictures and getting herself another shot. "He just got demoted for no reason other than he's the heir. And you've met him. Wouldn't it piss you off a little if this guy got your job?"

Both eyes shifted to Tony, who frowned and huffed.

"Yes, all right. Enough of that. I mean it. Jess, we've got to go."

Jess rolled her eyes but took Christine's hand and kissed the back of it. "Thank you, again."

Christine huffed, but there was a spark of mischief in her gaze. "I'll keep in touch."

* * *

"Was that okay?"

I glanced briefly at Tony as we stepped outside to confront Obadiah. "What?"

"Telling your girlfriend who's behind this."

"Not my girlfriend, first off. And we know it's true. I trust her. She believes me about you, I can tell. She's a good person. The type that doesn't care about the money. She cares a little about the fame, but more about the people who are being affected. She wants justice and I've already informed her that I'm willing to give it to her. I needed more info, she needed a story. We compromised and now we can deliver a warning. He won't back down. I've seen his work. It's not the kind of person he is. He fights back." I glanced at Tony's hard expression. "You can warn him, but it won't do much good. I'm working on filing a case against him. I just need more proof."

"You don't have enough?" He hissed as we got closer.

"I've got proof that weapons are being shipped out under the table and the company is giving the authorization. Unfortunately, as you saw with Christine, it looks worse on you than him. I need _his_ signature on the documents, which isn't going to happen. I can try tricking him into signing one, but that will do more harm than good if this ends up going to court. I can't be planting evidence."

"Then, I'll hire someone to—"

"_No_," I said sharply, grabbing his arm and stopping him. "You want him going down for this, then we do it right. No cutting corners, no hiring spies or anything else under the table. _This_ is what happens to deals under the table. People get hurt. Nobody wants that. Just letting you get upset with him isn't even good, but I'm letting you do it because I know how you are. So, go. You find out the truth from him, and we'll go from there."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I'm your inside to the company right now. I go with you, and it risks that position. He already doesn't care for me, so I'd rather not make that worse unless it comes down to it."

Tony eyed me with a look that caught me off guard. "Pepper said I don't know what I have."

I blinked, rather confused. "Well, I don't want to say she's right, but she is. What does this have to do with—" I stopped as he walked off with a response. "—anything… right. Well, something tells me this isn't going to go well."

And it didn't. Tony left the event early, leaving Pepper and I to handle any more dealings with business while we were there, and she gave me a lift home. After that, no word from Tony and I was up to my ears in work. Work for his company—which was given to me in bucket-loads with Obadiah in charge and his obvious dislike for me—on top of the extra stuff I was doing on the side for him as well as Christine. Pepper offered to help with some of the company's work, but she was just as busy as I was, and I continuously waved her off other than to thank her for my constant supply of coffee.

I was worried though. I could feel it eating away at my gut and causing me severe abdominal pains that I'd had to get medication for. _Stress the doctor says. No shit._ I knew Tony well by now, but he wasn't answering my texts and hadn't been responding to me at all. Pepper said he hadn't left the lab much, and I felt that I was missing something. Something important and it came to me one night after I'd jolted up from a nightmare.

"No… No, no, no, no, no. He wouldn't. He shouldn't."

I threw my blankets off, ignoring the cold sweat that covered my body as I grabbed my coat and scrambled to get my keys. I ran out of my apartment and cursed under my breath as I jumped into my car and dropped my keys. I reached down and frantically put them in, connecting my phone to my Bluetooth in the car.

"Shit, shit, shit. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Goddammit Tony, pick up!"

"_Hello?_"

"Tony, you better not have done what I think you've done."

"_Who is this?_"

"Jess, you dolt! Where the hell are you? And if you say you're on your way to Gu—"

"_Not now Jess! Bit busy! I'll call you back!_"

"Tony! Tony!"

The call was ended, and I cursed, picking up the speed to get to his home. My hands were shaking, and my breath was short by the time I reached his place, anxiety at an all-time high as I gripped my shirt just below my stomach and repeatedly rang the doorbell.

"God, please don't be dead. Please don't be dead," I muttered under my breath, giving up the bell to pound on the door. "Tony! Dammit, Tony, please fucking answer!"

There was no response and I sagged against the door, breath catching in my throat and stomach aching like I'd been stabbed. I couldn't breathe, but I fought through the panic attack as best I could, my worry for Tony bypassing everything as I pulled myself together long enough to locate a window. I flexed my fingers for a minute before rearing my fist back and letting it fly. The window rattled in its frame, making me whimper at the pain it sent through my hand, but I tried again. When that didn't work, I tried my elbow before my brain clicked. _Need to focus it more._ I grabbed my keys, fixing one between my fingers and making a fist once more. This time, the glass shattered like it was supposed to, making me cringe as glass tore into my hand and arm. It didn't matter to me at that moment though, and I kicked out the rest of the glass before climbing into Tony's entryway.

An alarm beeped at me, but I breathlessly called out. "J-Jarvis! Jarvis, it's me! D-Deactivate the alarm!"

"_Alarm deactivated. Hello, Miss Jess._"

"Don't h-hello me. W-Where the hell is he?" I growled, cringing again and grabbing onto the couch in agony at the pain in my gut. "G-God dammit. I can't deal with this kind of stress right now."

"_It appears that you are struggling with a possible anxiety attack, Miss Jess. Your blood pressure is rather high, and your heart rate has increased to—_"

"Jarvis, if you d-don't tell me where he is, I-I'm going to rearrange your circuits and give you a valley girl accent f-for the rest of your foreseeable future. Where the _hell_ is he?"

There was a brief pause before the computer responded.

"_Currently in combat with US aerial forces while flying away from a village called—_"

"Gulmira," I said the same time Jarvis did. "Get him back here _now_, and don't tell him I'm here."

"_Miss Jess—_"

"Don't," I said shortly. "H-He wants to give me a panic attack, h-he can deal with the consequences. When i-is Pepper supposed to show up?"

"_By seven, Miss Jess._"

"Time?"

"_Just after three._"

"Send her down here a-as soon as she shows up. S-She's going to need to stop me from killing him."

"_Yes, of course._"


	3. Chapter 3

Almost thirty minutes later, I had calmed down enough to breathe properly—going through the motions I'd learned back when my father was still alive—and grabbing the first-aid kit for my cut-up arm. I hadn't had a panic attack this bad in years—not since the BAR exam—and the fact that Tony's disappearance had caused it made my blood boil and my heart ache. We'd become friends, I realized. Somehow, in that week I'd stuck around, he was no longer my boss and I genuinely feared for his life when I'd had a nightmare of him flying off in his suit to Gulmira and getting shot down by a tank in his attempt to get revenge. The thing was, I hadn't felt this close to someone in ages. It was new, and not entirely wanted. If I had a panic attack to this extent every time something dangerous happened, I knew I would die early. _If he'd just told me though. Given me a warning or asked first or something._ I dragged a hand down my face as I sank back into his desk chair, feeling tired and weary as the hours ticked by. Tony finally made his reappearance around 6:45 am, and I was not happy with what I saw.

His landing was shaky at best and the suit he wore was riddled with dents and bullet holes. My heart leaped up into my throat and threatened another attack, but I was more angry now than worried. He was alive, but what he'd recklessly done was going to haunt me for ages unless I took care of it right here, right now.

"Right, Jarvis? Let's get this off and remind me to call back Jess in a few hours."

"_About that, sir…_"

"A few hours?" I said shortly, making him whip around in shock—his comment only adding to my anger towards him.

"Jess, what are you doing here?" He asked, brows furrowing. "How did you get in?"

I ignored his questions, getting up and stalking forward. "I call you at three in the morning, panicked as all get out, and you think you can hang up on me and not call me back for _four-plus hours_ and everything will be _okay_? Like I just went, 'Oh, he must be fine if he hung up and didn't answer my questions. He was only shouting over the noise in the background that proved he was definitely in trouble. I'll just go back to fucking sleep'!"

"Look, it's fine! I came back, didn't I? And I planned on calling you back."

I cracked a sickly-sweet smile. "Do me a favor. Take off the helmet."

"…All right." He reached up and took it off, only for my fist to slam into his nose, making him stumble back. "Agh! What the hell, Jess!"

"I thought you were going to die!" I shouted back, silencing him as he finally got a good look at me.

My tousled hair, tired eyes and quivering fists all screaming that I hadn't had a wink of sleep out of my worry over him. He didn't quite understand it though.

"If you're worried about your job—"

"Dear God, you're such a—" I sucked in a breath through my teeth, bringing a hand to my head. "I don't give a _shit_ about my job. You idiot, all I cared about was you!"

"What for? You knew about the suit."

"I knew you had a partial suit and that you had specs up for the full thing. I didn't know it was finished. I didn't know the casing was bulletproof and apparently tank and airplane proof. Hell, you haven't talked to me at all since you confronted Obadiah at that stupid party! So how was I supposed to know what tests you finished or, or that you were so frustrated about Gulmira that you decided to just fly down there like bloody Superman to save the day!"

He frowned, getting annoyed and shouting in return. "What would you have me do then, huh! Tell you so you can what? Try and stop me? Whine about how unsafe it is and yaddy yaddy yadda? I made this suit, so I could help people! I made it to escape that hell hole in Afghanistan, come back here and make a difference! That's why I stopped my company making weapons! That's why I flew out there to help those people who were suffering because of my naïvety! You want me to stop that?"

"I want you to fucking _call_ first!" I snapped back, cringing as my stomach twisted painfully and I clutched at my shirt. "Christ, I knew you were stupid, but God damn."

His hunched shoulders relaxed slightly as I turned my back to him, making for his chair. "What?"

I sighed heavily. "I just wanted a warning. Wanted to know that your suit was fully functional and safe enough to go out there and _make_ a difference. God, you had me so fucking worried."

He blinked, confused. "Why?"

I shot him an annoyed look. "I'm your friend, Tony. Don't know if you see it that way or not and I don't know how you managed to get _me_ to see it that way, but I am. So, you're stuck with me. Got it?"

He took a second to let those words register before he nodded. "All right. Friends with my lawyer. Could be worse."

I glared. "Shut up, or this lawyer is going to _break_ your nose this time."

He twitched, wiping under his nose with a grimace at the blood that had finally stopped dripping onto his suit. "Nice punch."

"Took kung fu lessons in college," I grumbled out bitterly, though my fist throbbed under the bandages. "Now, get out of that suit before Pepper and I have to pry you out of it with a crowbar. And don't think we won't."

He grunted, stepping onto a platform as robot arms came down to try and remove it, but they were having some trouble.

"Hey! Ow! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Hey!"

"_It's a tight fit, sir,_" Jarvis replied as the arms struggled to pull the metal off. "_Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt._"

"Be gentle. This is my first time," he joked, shooting me a smile that I didn't return. "I designed this to come off, so—Hey. I really should be able to—"

"_Please try not to move, sir._"

"What's going on here?"

Tony looked behind me, but I'd heard the heels coming down the stairs before he did—Pepper now standing in the lab.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing," Tony admitted as she gaped.

"Are those bullet holes?" She gasped.

"It's a long story."

"It's really not," I argued, drawing her attention to me. "Basically, he went to get rid of the weapons Obadiah sent to a town in Afghanistan using his flying suit, which he's been making for a few months and apparently perfected the last week without telling us."

"You knew about this?"

"Ah, my bloody nose? That was her," Tony informed, grimacing as a chunk of the suit came off. "Finally."

Pepper looked to me. "You hit him?"

"He ran off to his potential death. I called, he hung up on me. It wasn't like I was going to go back to sleep while in the middle of a panic attack. So, I broke in and punched him in the face. I'd say I owe you a new window, but I'm not paying for it after this stunt."

Pepper noticed the bandages then and gasped, taking my arm gently. "Oh my God, Jess! Your arm!"

"What?" Tony questioned, having not noticed it as he stepped out of the last of his suit.

"What happened?" Pepper asked, and I gave her a disgruntled frown, still upset with Tony despite having calmed down about the whole thing.

"Broke. A. Window."

"Let me see," Tony stepped over, taking my arm from her and peeling away the bandages as I attempted to jerk my arm away.

"Oi! You're not allowed to worry about me, you ungrateful little—"

His grip tightened on my elbow, stopping me from pulling back my arm as his eyes caught mine seriously. "Please."

I begrudgingly relaxed, letting him remove the bandages and look over the cuts and dark bruising on my knuckles. He brushed his fingers over my knuckles, surprisingly gentle, before releasing me.

"Jarvis, call over a doctor. Her injuries need to be cleaned properly and some of the cuts might need stitches. I'll cover the costs," he said before I could stop him.

"T-Tony, I don't need—"

"You're right," he stopped me, turning away. "I'm an idiot."

"Wha—"

"So, I expect you to stick around and help me the next few days at least, to ensure my suit is up to your standards."

"My stand—Tony, I don't know the first thing about—"

He turned, a brow raised. "You're going back on what you said?"

"What? No, I just—"

"Then, it's settled. Pepper will drop by your home to get what you need, and I'll see you in a few moments once you've met with the doctor." He waved. "Have fun."

_Oh, you ripe little piece of—_

* * *

Tony had dismantled a good chunk of his suit in order to work out getting the right fit, preventing him from getting stuck once more. His gaze shifted over to Jess when a piece clattered to the ground, but the woman didn't stir, having fallen asleep some time ago while working through the specs he'd given her his last flight. He hadn't realized how badly he had been stressing her out until now, and guilt swam in his stomach before he cleared his throat and turned back to his work—just as Pepper came down the stairs.

"Hey, you busy?" He asked her, making sure he hadn't disturbed Jess. "You mind if I send you on an errand? My usual go-to passed out an hour ago."

"Uh, sure."

"I need you to go to my office and hack into my mainframe, and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests," he said, picking up a case and handing her a USB drive from inside it. "This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" She asked, eyeing him and he sighed softly.

_This would be so much easier if it was Jess._ "Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."

He bristled, having hoped she'd understand as easily as Jess did. "There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There's nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."

"Is that so?" She tossed the lock chip onto the desk, turning away. "Well, then, I quit."

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out? Even Jess—"

"You're going to _kill_ yourself, Tony," she cut him off, trying to get him to understand. "I'm not going to be a part of it."

He sank into a chair. "I shouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

"And Jess? She's just letting you do this?"

He sighed, looking over at the woman as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I think she knows she can't stop me, so instead, she's trying to help."

"Help you run off to your death? Don't lie to me, Tony. You saw her! You rushed off and she broke into your home to make sure you were okay! You're really going to put her through that again? Put _me_ through that?"

"She gets it!" He snapped, forcing himself to calm down. "She understands that I'm trying to do something good to make up for everything I've been ignoring. She's not helping me die, she's making sure I make it through this. I'm sorry if I thought you'd be willing to do the same."

Pepper sighed softly, returning to the desk and picking up the lock chip. "You're all I have too, you know. You and Jess."

She left, leaving him with that and he sighed again, only to jump when Jess spoke.

"You shouldn't be so hard on her."

"Jesus. A little warning would be nice," he complained as Jess rolled her eyes and stretched her arms above her head.

"I mean it. She's not like me, you know. You and I have both had a taste of how bad the world can be, but she doesn't get that. She just sees a foolhardy, rich moron flying off trying to be a hero without knowing what he's doing and putting his life at risk."

He went back to work, pretending to ignore her.

"Which is what I think too, honestly."

He shot her a small glare as she cracked a smile.

"_But_, you and I have learned that sometimes, the only one we can depend on to save us is ourselves. We know how terrible that is and those people out there are helpless without someone to intervene. You being that someone is scary, that's all. I feel it too, and I would love to just chain you to the ground and tear your suit apart, but I know that's not gonna happen. Both, because you're stubborn and if you don't do it, who will?"

"You study philosophy too?" He quipped, and Jess threw a screw at his head, earning a smile.

"Don't make fun of me. I'm just saying that you shouldn't be so harsh when she's just worried about you."

"And you're not?"

"I _am_, but I'm handling it differently. I'm attempting to help keep you safe by improving your suit. She was trying to help keep you safe by stopping you from going. What else is she supposed to do?"

"You're too nice to her."

"You're not nice enough to her."

He cracked a smile and nodded to the stairs. "You hungry?"

"Starving. You going to order in?"

"Depends. Chinese or pizza?"

"Chinese, definitely. Do you want me to—"

"No, no. I'll do it. I'm pretty much finished anyway. Double-check that the schematics for the deicing is right. It's already applied, but I can make some minor adjustments if needed."

"Will do."

He dropped a bit of metal into her front shirt pocket, making her raise a brow. "Souvenir."

She lifted it out and let out a belt of laughter at the miniature mask he'd made out of boredom. "God, you really are a narcissist!"

"Uh, a 'you're welcome' would be appreciated," he teased, making for the stairs.

"Oh, yeah. 'Cause I'm grateful for having a little bit of your likeness hanging out in my pocket. God, it's like a terrible Barbie Halloween mask!"

He rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile on his face at hearing her laugh. It was the first true laugh he'd heard from her and a sense of pride welled up in him at the fact that _he'd_ done that. Once he'd reached the living room, he paused, hearing a phone going off. Curious, he looked around before finding his phone under a couch cushion. He checked the ID and answered it when he saw it was Pepper, only for his body to go rigid and his voice to fail him.

"_Tony? Tony, are you there? Jess?_"

The phone was taken from him as hands gently laid him back onto the couch.

"Breathe," a voice instructed, sending fear and anger running through him when he recognized Obadiah. "Easy, easy. You remember this one, right?" He purred, showing Tony the device he'd used. "It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis."

Obadiah came around the couch, moving Tony's face as he took out his earplugs.

"Ah, Tony. When I ordered a hit on you, I was worried that I was killing the golden goose," Obadiah admitted, opening a case nearby and pulling out a device as Tony fought against the paralysis.

Obadiah pressed it to the chest piece he had, jerking Tony's body and making him grunt in pain as it burned through his shirt and yanked the chest piece out of him.

"But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give." Obadiah smiled, hovering over him. "Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?"

Unable to respond, or spit in the man's face as he wanted, Tony was forced to just lay there as Obadiah eyed the chest piece and jerked the wires out of his chest, leaving him gasping for a second.

"Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that." Obadiah joined him on the couch. "This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands." Obadiah chuckled, opening his case and putting the piece in. "I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as, uh… Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."

He got up and started to leave, when footsteps came up the stairs, sending a trill of fear through Tony's heart. _No. No, Jess. Go back. Don't come up here! Jess! Don't!_

"Tony? I think the deicing system could use a little—" Jess stopped at the head of the stairs, eyes going wide as she spotted his pale, unmoving body and Obadiah, who sighed. "What… What the hell did you do?"

Obadiah sighed. "See, now you? I never really liked you. Far too nosey for your own good."

"Excuse me?" Jess snapped, teeth bared in a snarl as Tony tried to get her to leave, looking at the stairs, at the case in Obadiah's hands and back at the stairs.

"Michael was easier to take care of. I was just hoping they'd put another idiot in his place," Obadiah huffed. "Instead, I got stuck dealing with you."

"What's in the case? The hell did you do?" Jess pressed, stepping forward threateningly.

"Nothing you'll need to worry about," Obadiah smiled, sickly sweet before he turned and whipped the gun out of his pocket.

Jess didn't have time to react before it went off, hitting her in the chest and causing a pained grunt to escape Tony when she crumpled to the floor.

"One less thorn in my side," Obadiah grumbled, pocketing the weapon and making to leave. "Shame too. If she hadn't started working for you, she might have had a career ahead of her."

The door closed behind him and Tony fought, struggling against the paralysis as his gaze latched onto Jess on the ground and the red he could see crawling up her shirt. Just as he managed to get himself off the couch though, there was a cough and a groan. Hope filled him as Jess grimaced in pain and brought a hand up to her chest.

"S-Son of a-a _bitch_," she cursed, rolling carefully onto her side and managing to push herself upright with the help of the wall.

She spotted him then and she attempted to rush over, crying out in pain and hitting her knees onto the floor near him.

"F-Fuck, that's… G-God, remind me to s-shoot him later."

"J-Jess," he choked out, reaching a hand up to the red blossoming on her shirt in disbelief until she flinched back.

"D-Don't touch it. I think y-your stupid mini-mask h-has stuck itself to my chest." She looked over him, fingers touching his empty centerpiece. "Christ. W-What can I do?"

"L-Lab."

"Okay. Okay. Here, let me help—Ngh!" She grimaced while trying to help him onto his feet, the dark stain on her shirt getting darker as he tried to push her off. "O-Okay. C-Can't carry you. What do you need?"

He tapped the centerpiece and she frowned.

"You have an extra?"

He nodded with a cringe, and she hastily tried to make for the stairs.

"R-Right. Find the extra. Got it."

She stumbled down the stairs, a hand wrapped around the fabric of her shirt as pain laced through her body and she quickly stepped through the broken glass to get into the lab. Once in, her gaze looked over the mess and she groaned.

"Extra chest piece in the messiest lab I've ever been in."

There was a chirp then, and her eyes went over to Dum-E as it held up a glass case with the gift Pepper had brought for Tony.

"Oh, my God. Dum-E, you're the best!" She grinned, earning a pleased whir from the robot as she took the case and smashed it, breaking it open to get the extra chest piece out of it. "I'll tell Tony to be nicer to you, I swear!"

She scrambled back upstairs, tripping with a curse on the last step, but pushing past the pain to get to Tony, who had sunk back down to the floor. She crawled over to him and grabbed the wired ends of the chest piece before sticking her hand down the center of Tony's chest. Once it was connected, she pulled her hand out and put the device back in, lightly patting Tony's face as a car pulled up outside.

"Come on, come on. Tony, tell me this is working."

Tony sucked in a deep breath, coughing a little and opening his eyes, grabbing Jess's shirt desperately. "Pepper…"

Jess nodded, looking around. "I-I'll call her."

The door opened then, and Rhode rushed in, spotting the two of them and running over.

"Tony! You two okay? Jess, you're bleeding."

Jess didn't know the man well but pushed off his concern. "W-Where's Pepper?"

"She's fine. She's with five agents."

"Coulson," Jess blinked, surprised. "Suppose he's somewhat useful."

"They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"Or not," she muttered. "Obadiah took his chest piece. He has a suit."

"A what?"

"I'll call her," Jess said, getting up, only to cringe and double over as Rhodes caught her.

"Whoa. You shouldn't be moving. What did he do to you?"

"Shot me. I'm fine," Jess pushed him off, making for the phone.

"_Shot_ you? Christ, Tony. Where'd you get this one?"

Tony cracked a small smile as he was helped onto his feet. "I'd be dead without her."

"Don't praise me yet," Jess complained, ringing up Pepper. "If they're already at the labs, we're going to need you moving. I can't work the suit, especially not like this."

"Why do you keep talking about a suit?" Rhodes questioned again, and Jess sighed.

"Just get him downstairs and grab the medkit. I'm going to need it."

* * *

The phone was finally picked up and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Pepper? Pepper, please tell me you're not at Stark Industries."

"_Jess? Oh, my God, are you okay? Is Tony okay? He wasn't picking up! And—_"

"Pepper, where are you!" I shouted into the phone. "Because you need to get out of there if you're at Stark Industries! Obadiah attacked us, took Tony's chest piece. He has a suit, Pepper! All the agents in the world won't stop him!"

"_Oh, God. Okay. Okay, I'll go. Is he okay? Are you and Tony all right?_"

"Fine. He used your gift, but I don't think it's as effective as the new one." I grunted, working my way back down the stairs. "I'm going to try and help him from the lab while Rhodes goes to deal with the military. Tony should make it to Stark Industries in time to try and help, but this is going to be a fight. Obadiah has lost it. He doesn't care about anything other than power right now and putting him in a suit? We're asking for a lot of trouble. Now, I need to go. I need to get a hold of someone and get a line up to Tony. Try to get back here if you can. I could use an extra set of hands."

I hung up before she could argue, sagging against the wall as Tony flew out of the unrepaired hole in the ceiling and Rhodes looked to me. He hurried over, helping me to the desk chair I gestured to and I waved towards a box near the back.

"Med kit."

"On it."

I panted heavily, unbuttoning the buttons to my shirt carefully as I spoke to him. "H-How good are you at first aid?"

"Depends. You said you were shot?"

"Kind of. Idiot Tony gave me a gift before I went up there. A metal mask like his suit. I-It caught the bullet, but—Ngh!" I cursed repeatedly under my breath as I pulled my shirt away and tugged lightly at the undershirt that was around the twisted bit of metal now half-embedded in my chest. "God, if this leaves a stupid mask-faced scar, I'm going to fucking murder him."

Rhodes hurried over and grimaced at the sight, opening the first aid kit and looking hesitant. "I-I don't think I should be the one doing this. What about a doctor?"

"No time, and I really don't want to have to try and explain this right now. Just tell me what you need."

"Well, uh, I don't know how deep this goes."

"J-Jarvis? Can you multitask?"

"_Of course, Miss Jess. How may I assist?_"

I leaned my head back against the seat, closing my eyes. "Diagnostics scan. How screwed am I because of this metal? What can Rhodes do to get it out?"

A blue beam ran over me and Jarvis hummed. "_Diagnostics. Blood pressure is a little low, but stable. No major arteries have been damaged, though your Pulmonary vein is dangerously close to a broken rib. You have also cracked ribs one and three, and significant bruising and bleeding._"

"How deep is the metal?"

"_You should be able to pull it out safely, without risk of puncturing the lung, however, it has warped around the broken section of rib as well. You may need to use a scalpel._"

My eyes went to Rhodes, who was eyeing the injury uneasily. "Can you do that? Otherwise, I'm stuck like this until this is all over."

He shook his head, confidently. "No. I can do it. I've removed bullets before. This is just slightly bigger."

He rolled up a towel nearby, placing it between my teeth as he put on gloves and grabbed a scalpel.

"Ready?"

I nodded and clenched my eyes shut. _As ready as I'll ever be._

* * *

Jess panted, covered in sweat as she spat out the towel, looking over at the bloodied mangled piece of metal Rhode had removed and wincing as he dabbed alcohol over the stitched injury.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I think this is the best I can do. I really need to go though, before the military blows Tony out of the sky."

"Go, go." She waved him off, grimacing as she reached out for her shirt and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll bandage you up first."

She grunted. "Jarvis? How am I?"

"_You'll live, Miss Jess. With the broken portion of the rib removed, there is nothing endangering your lung or pulmonary vein. Your blood pressure is low, however. I recommend a possible blood transfusion as soon as—_"

"Can't. Tony needs help." She sat up as Rhode finished applying thick bandaged to her shoulder. "T-Thanks, Rhodes."

"My pleasure," he answered, nodding to the car. "I'm heading out. Keep an eye on him for me until I get there."

"I'll do my best." Jess pulled on her button-up, leaving it open but feeling a little exposed without it as a chill went down her spine. "Definitely blood loss. Jarvis, is there any way you can connect me to Tony and give me some sort of audio and visual connection down here? I want to stay updated and help him out as much as I can, so I'll need specs of his suit too."

"_Of course, Miss Jess. Connecting you to Mr. Stark. Bringing up diagnostics of Mark III._"

"And get me what you can on Obadiah's suit and the chest piece he stole."

"_On it. There is a Bluetooth headset in the box on your right. I will connect you to Mr. Stark through it._"

"Thanks a million, Jarvis." She picked up the Bluetooth and put it on. "Tony? You there?"

"_Jess? How did you—_"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Jess complained, grunting as she adjusted her position in the chair. "You at Stark Industries yet? I told Pepper to get away from there, but I don't know how deep into it she was. I might not have made it in time."

"_It's fine. I'll be there in less than a minute. You doing okay?_"

"I'm not the one who lost my chest piece and am stuck working with the old model."

"_Good point. Jarvis, how do you think the Mark I chest piece is going to hold up?_"

"_The suit's at forty-eight percent and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight._"

"Keep us posted, Jarvis," Jess muttered. "So, you've got limited air time, limited power too, I'm guessing."

"_Yes. I could blow a car away before, but the power in this thing barely pushes it aside._"

Jess glanced over at the dented blue sports car in the back. "Yeah, I can see that." She grimaced again, gripping her shirt. "Christ. You got any alcohol down here?"

"_Glass cabinet behind the filing cabinet. You sure you're okay? You __**were**__ shot._"

"Rhodes got your mini-me out of my chest along with a bit of broken rib," she informed him, getting up slowly and going to the liquor cabinet. "I've been better."

"_Scans indicate significant blood loss, low blood pressure, and serious bruising on and around the impact sight along with two fractured ribs._"

"Jarvis, you snitch."

"_Apologies, Miss Jess. I assumed him knowing now would keep him focused._"

"I thought you said he was an intelligent AI, not a nagging mother-in-law."

"_If we could remain focused? Thanks,_" Tony huffed. "_Coming up on Stark Industries now. Pepper's in her car, but scanners indicate Obadiah is pushing through the concrete. I'm going in._"

"I'll look up weaknesses on his suit since you apparently have schematics."

"_It was based on the one I made in the cave. Might be the same one, actually, with some added bits. Keep me posted, Jess. I'm counting on you._"

"Will do."

* * *

Tony tackled Obadiah through the ground and unfortunately out onto the freeway. Once they pulled to a stop, Obadiah was the first to recover, grabbing a car full of screaming kids and their mother, raising it up to crush Tony.

"I love this suit!"

"Put them down," Tony ordered as Jess's voice cracked into his ear.

"_He won't listen. He's lost it, Tony. No concern for anyone other than himself._"

He figured as much, knowing for certain when Obadiah scoffed.

"Collateral damage, Tony."

Tony lowered his hands, knowing that he didn't have enough power for significant blasts from both. "Divert power to chest RT."

Tony shot the blast at Obadiah, knocking him back and giving him the chance to grab the car before anyone inside it was hurt.

"_Power reduced to nineteen percent,_" Jarvis chimed in.

Seeing as the family was panicking though, the woman stepped on the gas and soon dragged Tony partially down the freeway before he lost his grip and rolled under the car. Obadiah rushed over, using what little thrusters he had to get close to Tony as he struggled to stand. A motorcyclist tried to drive by, but Obadiah grabbed it—launching the biker off—and slammed it into Tony.

"Jess, we need to get civilians out of here! I can't fight and protect them!"

"_Already on it! I called Christine. She's alerted the authorities who are on their way and she will be taping from a distance to ensure that Obadiah is imprisoned for this._"

"Yeah, not concerned so much about the media at the moment," he grunted as Obadiah picked him up and threw him down.

"For thirty years, I've been holding you up," he shouted, slamming a foot into Tony's gut and making sparks fly. "I've built this company from nothing! And nothing is going to stand in my way."

Tony was thrown into a bus and Obadiah pulled out a missile.

"Least of all, you."

"Anything? Jess! Give me something!" He called out as he flipped through the air from the explosion.

"_I'm trying! His propulsion systems aren't as good and—Oh my God. Maybe… but you have limited flight time._"

"Tell me, Jess."

"_He doesn't have deicing features. No flaps, no chemical, electro-magnetic anything. If you can get him up high enough, he'll freeze and—_"

"And will come crashing back down," Tony realized, stopping his decent and hovering as Obadiah chuckled.

"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor. I've made some upgrades of my own!"

The bulky metal suit shifted, pushing itself into the air as well.

"_Sir, it appears as though his suit can fly,_" Jarvis replied.

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude."

"_With only fifteen percent power, the odds of reaching that height are—_"

"I know the math! Do it!" He shouted, turning and flying up into the sky with Obadiah on his heels.

"_Thirteen percent power, sir._"

"Climb! Jess, you see any way to fix this if it goes sideways?"

"_I'm looking! I'm looking! Which deicing system did you install?_"

"All of them!"

"_God, overcompensating much?_"

"Jess!"

"_Right, right. Not the time. You're just making me nervous! Either I have a panic attack, or I make fun of your small pen—_"

"I swear to God, Jess. If you finish that sentence, I'm taking away your birthday gift."

"_What?_"

"Find something!"

"_Eleven percent,_" Jarvis chimed.

"Keep going!"

"_Seven percent power_."

"Just leave it on the screen. Quit telling me!"

Then, Obadiah grabbed his ankle and pulled him down—the two of them still climbing upward.

"_Save your thrusters, Tony! Let him pull you up higher!_" Jess called out as he did so, struggling in the grip of the behemoth iron suit.

"You had a great idea, Tony," Obadiah complimented, "but my suit is way more advanced in every way!"

"How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony asked, making him pause as the suit turned off.

"Icing problem?"

"Might want to look into it."

He hit the top of the suit and sent him flying down, just as he started to fall as well, barely landing on his own feet with some of his reserved energy.

"_Two percent. We are now running on emergency backup power._"

"Get ahold of Pepper. See if she's still in the area."

"_She is,_" Jess replied. "_You apparently installed a tracker on her phone. Rude and illegal if she didn't consent, which I doubt she did. She's just outside Stark Industries._"

"Perfect. Connect me, Jarvis." He landed haphazardly on the roof. "Potts?"

"_Tony! Oh my God, are you okay_?"

"I'm almost out of power," he admitted, taking off a gauntlet. "I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there."

"_Tony! His suit is activated again!_"

He whipped around just as Obadiah landed behind him.

"Nice try."

Tony reached up to try and blast him.

"_No power!_" Jess reminded him, and he looked at his bare hand with a grimace as a metal fist sent him flying back. "_Don't try to fight! He's a bulky tank, not some stick like you!_"

"Gee, thanks, but I don't know what else to do, Jess! You need to give me something!"

He threw himself back at Obadiah, punching it ineffectively before he was grabbed and squeezed around the middle, making sparks fly and metal dig into his spine.

"Weapons status?"

"_Repulsors offline. Missiles offline_."

"Flares!"

Flares came out, blinding Obadiah enough that he let Tony go, but he needed a plan.

"Jess, this isn't working," he breathed out, keeping quiet to avoid Obadiah's detection.

"_You're on top of Stark Industries. What's in there that can help you?_"

His eyes widened. "The arc reactor. Potts?"

"_Tony!_"

"We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"_Well, how are you going to do that?_"

"You're going to do it," he said, explaining quickly. "Go up to the console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here."

"_Okay. I'm going in now_."

"Make sure you wait until I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time," he said, sneaking away as Obadiah headed over to check if he was there. "Jess? Give me some weaknesses."

"_On it. There should be a gap around the neck. The old design left a lot of open crevices where wires are exposed. Pull some out?_"

"Will do." He rushed in behind Obadiah, jumping on his back and reaching into a large crevice. "These look important," he mused, ripping out the man's optical controls and targeting systems.

Obadiah struggled but was able to grab a hold of him and throw him across the roof—keeping his helmet and opening up a portion of the behemoth to see.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit." He crushed Tony's helmet and tossed it to him. "You finally outdid yourself, Tony. You would have made your father proud."

"_It's ready, Tony. Get off the roof,_" Pepper called out, but he didn't respond as Obadiah shot at him, sending him through the glass and dangling into the building. "Tony!"

"How ironic, Tony. Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever."

"Pepper!" He called out, being ignored by Obadiah.

"And now, I'm gonna kill you with it."

He launched a missile that just missed him.

"You ripped out my targeting system."

"Time to hit the button!" Tony called down, but Pepper hesitated.

"You told me not to!"

"Hold still, you little prick."

Another missile missed.

"Just do it!"

"You'll die!"

"Push it!" He shouted, dangling from one arm now as a third missile flew overhead.

She did, ducking out of the building as a massive flare flew up and knocked Tony aside, before passing through Obadiah and into the sky. Lightning streaked across the clouds and half the city lost its power as Obadiah toppled over and into the arc reactor, destroying it.

"—_ny. Tony! Oi, you better not be dead! Tony!_"

Tony's chest piece flickered before lighting up again, drawing him into consciousness. "Jess… would you stop yelling in my ear?"

"_You little… God, if you tried to die on me again, I swear, I'll never pay for that window I broke._"

"Noted," he mumbled, shifting a bit with a groan. "Power?"

"_Gone. I don't know how your little chest piece snuck through that blast, but you're alive. And I hope you know, I'm draining your liquor cabinet. Too much stress for one week._"

"Save some for me."

"_Get your ass home and maybe I will. Doctor's already on his way here. Jarvis has him on speed dial._"

Tony snorted. "All right. And Jess?"

"_What?_"

"Thank you. For… you know."

"_Yeah, whatever. But if this is going to be a normal thing, I seriously need a raise._"

He cracked a smile, getting up and making his way down from the roof, touching the earpiece in his ear as he smiled at a relieved Pepper. "How about dinner?"

"_That's… not exactly a raise._"

"Dinner and a raise then. Better?"

"_You're impossible._"

"Hey, I think dinner with the infamous Tony Stark is far better than a measly old check," he grunted as he slipped into Pepper's car. "I'll throw in a car too. Maybe a room at my place."

"_Tony._"

"Yeah?"

"_Shut up._"

* * *

A news broadcast played in Tony's office, Rhodes making up yet another story about what had happened the previous night at Stark Industries. Tony sat reading the paper as Pepper dabbed some concealer to his face to hide his injuries.

"She still not here?" He asked, raising a brow at Pepper, who smiled in amusement.

"She left the hospital only a moment ago. You should be glad she even agreed to show up here instead of resting at home as she wanted."

"I promised her a present, and dinner. She didn't want the dinner though."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "She's not like the others, Tony. She won't be swayed by a smiling face and fancy presents."

"Eh. Doesn't mean I can't try." He shrugged, glancing over his paper. "I honestly think it's due to him."

Agent Coulson ignored the jab as Tony returned his gaze to the article he was reading.

"'Iron Man.' That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it." He winced as Pepper removed a butterfly stitch from his nose. "I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway."

"Christine wrote that one," a voice said from the doorway, a tired-looking Jess stepping in with a small smile. "Told her to keep your name out of it, so she came up with that instead."

"About time you showed up."

Jess ignored Tony's jab and looked to Pepper. "Hey, Pepper. Coulson."

Agent Coulson frowned but attempted to be civil. "How's the shoulder?"

"Sore but let me shoot you and see how you like it."

"How bad is it?" Pepper asked.

"Not bad enough that they needed to keep me, though I'll be missing a part of my second rib the rest of my life," Jess sighed, sinking down into a chair at the desk and tugging at the tie around her throat. "Why am I here again?"

"Emotional support," Tony replied, making her shoot him a glance.

"You mean protecting you from lawsuits."

"As always. Hey, you do a good job, and I'll give you your present early."

Jess rolled her eyes as Agent Coulson passed some blue notecards to Tony.

"Here's your alibi."

"Okay."

"You were on your yacht."

"Yeah."

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night and sworn statements from fifty of your guests."

"See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Jess, Pepper and I alone on the island."

Pepper ripped off another butterfly bandage by his eyebrow, earning a small wince.

"Or just Jess and me."

"Not gonna happen," Jess huffed, rubbing lightly at her shoulder with her bandaged hand.

"That's what happened," Coulson pressed.

"All right."

"Just read it word for word."

Tony flipped through the cards. "There's nothing about Stane here."

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record."

Jess scoffed. "Sloppy."

Coulson glared, but Tony agreed.

"What about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my… I mean, is that… That _is_ kind of flimsy, don't you think?"

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark."

"Says the man who was called out by a lawyer just because his name was too long to be real." Jess winced as she pulled out a set of gloves and slipped them on carefully to hide the bandages on her hand.

"Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got… ninety seconds."

He went to leave, and Pepper stopped him to thank him; Jess eyeing his back until he was gone.

"You're not going to do a thing he said, are you?"

"Hm? What's that?" Tony asked though a spark of mischief lay in his gaze, making her sigh.

"You're starting to be too much work for me, you know."

"Says the woman who's playing hard to get."

"All right," Pepper called out, drawing their eyes to her. "If you two are _done_ flirting. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"I wasn't flirting," Jess huffed, earning a raised brow from Pepper as she helped Tony into his suit jacket.

"You know," Tony cut in. "It's actually not that bad. Even I don't think I'm Iron Man."

"You're not Iron Man," Pepper said, earning a snort from Jess.

"Yeah, he is."

Tony agreed. "Am so."

"You're not." Pepper looked at Jess. "Don't encourage him."

She waved Pepper off. "Oh, let him do what he wants. You don't actually expect him to just save the day once, do you? With _his_ ego?"

Pepper hesitated. "Good point. I'd _like_ you to though."

Tony's lip twitched up. "All right, suit yourself."

Jess raised a brow though, as he went on.

"You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become. She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me."

Jess stood, approaching him. "Do I _look_ crazy about you?"

"Well," Tony smirked, taking a step into her personal space with a slight tilt of his head. "You _did_ become such great friends with Jarvis that you were able to save me before."

"That makes me smart, not crazy."

"You can be smart and crazy."

"What, like you?"

Pepper smiled, patting Tony's shoulder and stepping out to let them have their moment, though he didn't look away from Jess.

"_No_, seeing as we're so obviously talking about you."

"Obviously, huh?" Jess snorted, adjusting his tie. "Tell you what. I'll do dinner, but it's got to be after my shoulder is healed up, there will be no after-dinner anything, _and_ I expect you to let me help you on that suit whenever I feel like it."

"Well, how could I say no to that?" He smirked, starting to lean in, but she stopped him with a hand grabbing his jaw, making him wince at the bruise she was touching. "Ow."

"Ninety seconds is up. You've got a speech to fail at making."

He wrinkled his nose as she let him go and slid past him. "Not even a little one? I'll make it quick."

"No, Tony."

"I'll buy you a car," he offered, bounding after her. "No, _two_ cars and a shiny new office right next to mine."

"Not interested."

"All right then," he said so suddenly that she tuned with furrowed brows, only for him to sneak in a kiss on the cheek with a grin. "Gotcha."

Her ears flamed red and she slapped his arm in annoyance as he laughed. "Ass!"

He was still grinning even as he took his place behind the podium in the next room with her at his side. "Been a while since I was in front of you," he chirped to the media, catching sight of Christine in the front row, which made his smile falter slightly. "I figure I'll stick to the cards this time. There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftops—"

Christine, of course, raised her hand and cut him off. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you—"

_Jess, I thought you took care of her,_ he mentally complained, shooting a glance at Jess by his side, who looked a little exasperated, but unable to help a small smile. Annoyance flickered through him, and he cut Christine off in return.

"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

"I never said you were a superhero," she countered.

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and, uh, fantastic," he hummed, suddenly beginning to like the idea. "I'm just not the hero type, clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public…"

Rhodes leaned towards him, hissing in his ear. "Just stick to the cards, man."

"Yeah, okay." Tony lifted the cards. "The truth is…" Then, his resolve gave in. "I am Iron Man."

Jess sighed as the entire crowd of media stood up. "Here we go."


	4. Chapter 4

**Just so you all know I _am_ directly quoting the movie dialogue for most of this (other than where my OC makes things deviate). Thank you for the reviews/favorites/follows! This chapter marks the beginning of "Iron Man 2." And I don't know much of anything regarding being a lawyer, so if anything's off, let me know and I'll see what I can do :)**

* * *

Iron Man jumped from the plane, dropping down onto the stage below as fireworks went off, landing in a crouch before standing and addressing the cheers of the crowd. Back-up dancers dressed in crude versions of the suit danced behind him as robot arms came up to remove the metal suit, revealing a well-dressed Tony Stark behind everything. He waved and made sure his suit cuffs were on properly before the music ended and he turned to the crowd.

"Oh, it's good to back. You miss me. I missed you too." He smiled as a man in the crowd shouted for him to blow something up. "Blow something up? I already did that." He clasped his hands together as the crowd quieted, letting him speak. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me."

The crowd roared as he continued.

"I'm not saying that 'from the _ashes_ of captivity'—never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history! I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair sippin' on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day!"

"I love you, Tony!" A woman called out as the crowd chanted and he calmed them.

"Please. It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why, for the next year—and for the first time since 1974—the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us. Therefore, what I am saying—if I'm saying anything—is welcome back to the Stark Expo."

The crowd roared in delight as Tony gestured to the screen behind him.

"And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about, please welcome my father, Howard."

Tony walked off as the video of his father played, stepping backstage and checking a device that informed him of his blood toxicity. He frowned, flexing his hand and giving the video one last look before heading out to meet with Happy, his head of security and driver.

"All right. It's just you out there, so watch out," Happy warned him, catching his thrown suit jacket.

They stepped out into a small hallway, leading to the VIP area where guests of abundance cheered at him as he passed through. He waved, signing a few posters and shaking hands, even getting a number from one blonde woman before Happy moved his forward to the car. He met a few last key guests before they made it out.

"Very mellow," he hummed as Happy agreed.

"That wasn't so bad."

"No, it was perfect."

"Look what we got here, the new model," Happy said, unlocking the white car that awaited them, though a red-head was leaning against it, drawing Tony's gaze.

"Hey, does she come with the car?"

"Let's certainly hope so."

He walked towards her with a smile. "Hi."

"Hi," she smiled back, shaking his hand.

"And you are?"

"Marshal."

"Irish, I like it," he hummed, though not as interested as he would be as he walked past her and to get into the car.

"Nice to meet you, Tony."

"I'm on the wheel. Do you mind?" He snapped his fingers at Happy while the man lowered the top. "Where you from?" He then asked Marshal.

"Bedford."

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, slipping past her and getting in the driver's seat.

"Looking for you."

"Yeah? You found me." He cleared his throat. "What are you up to later?"

"Serving subpoenas," she replied, giving away what had bothered him about her as she handed him the envelope.

"Yikes," Tony frowned as Happy took it.

"He doesn't like to be handed things," Happy explained.

"Yeah. I have a peeve."

"I, uh, I got it."

Marshall didn't mind as Tony rubbed at his forehead. _Jess is going to be pissed._

"You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Arms Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9 am."

"Can I see a badge?" Tony asked, remembering what Jess had told him probably a million times after a rather embarrassing accident involving a woman seductress dressed as a mock police officer.

"You want to see the badge?"

"He likes the badge."

She showed him. "You still like it?"

"Yup," he chirped, starting up the car and looking to Happy. "How far are we from DC?"

"DC? 250 miles."

Tony revved the engine and took off. "Ah, give Jess a call, would you?"

"On it."

Happy dialed the number and held the phone to Tony's ear.

"Hey, Jess, it's me."

"_Saw your stunt show,_" Jess drawled over the line. "_You know, you're really going to piss some people off if you keep flaunting about like that._"

"Eh, I'll take care of them."

"_Right, because you haven't met anyone __**man**__ enough to challenge you?_"

Tony cracked a smirk. "I've met you."

"_Oh, haha,_" she huffed. "_Was I supposed to take that as a compliment or insult?_"

"Compliment, definitely. Say, how quickly can you get to DC?"

"_Why? What did you do?_"

"Why's it always got to be something _I_ did?"

"_Because it's never something __**I**__ did. You're the trouble maker here, remember?_"

He rolled his eyes. "I got a subpoena."

There was silence for a second. "_Did you ask for a—_"

"A badge? Yes. She was real."

Jess let out a heavy sigh. "_I'll be there as soon as I can._"

"Perfect. Have Pepper set us up in a suite nearby. I'm meeting with the Senate of Arms something or another at nine."

"_Senate Arms Services Committee?_" Jess corrected.

"That's them."

"_Great. Now, I know why you've gotten a subpoena. You're drawing too much attention to yourself. Again._"

"That's my job," he hummed. "You going to represent me legally?"

"_You do know that once they find out we're dating, I can't keep doing that, right?_"

"Then, they won't know." He shrugged. "Or, you can find some other decently competent lawyer who lets me do as I please with little complaint and I hire you for something better."

"_Something better? I'm not going to be your personal anything, I hope you know that._"

"Nah, I've got Pepper for that. You can be my head tech engineer."

"_Tony, I don't have the qualifications—_"

"Nonsense. I'll hook you up with MIT for some online courses. I've got some sway with them, and you're good, Jess. Really good. Should've been in engineering from the get-go. Eye injury or not."

"_Don't try to flatter me, Tony. Just get to DC and I'll meet you there. Hopefully, we can pull up something to get you past the senate, who obviously dislikes you._"

"Think about it?" He pressed, waiting for the inevitable response.

"…_Fine. I'll think about it, but no press releases. I'm not about to be flaunted by your side like a fancy bauble just because we're dating._"

"Just have Christine do an article or something since you're so buddy-buddy with her," he huffed, having not grown to like the reporter and her close relationship with Jess.

"_Maybe I will. And just because I'm bi doesn't mean you have to worry about anything._"

"Who said I'm worrying?"

"_Uh-huh. You're right. **I'm **the__ one who should be worrying, you womanizer._"

"You're joking," he said, only to hear the pause on the other line. "You _are_ joking, right?"

"_I'll see you later, Tony._"

"Jess? Jess?" He pouted as Happy took the phone back. "She hung up on me."

"Well, I can't entirely disagree with her."

Tony shot the man a glare. "Since when were you on her side?"

Happy looked away sheepishly. "Since she may have gotten me a nice gift for my birthday?"

"What? What gift? When was your birthday?"

Happy frowned. "A week ago."

"Oh… uh, happy birthday."

"Yeah, thanks."

The silence that ensued sure put a damper on the ride to DC.

* * *

The gavel slammed down attempting to draw Tony's gaze away from Pepper as they spoke quietly across a few pews.

"Mr. Stark. Please, pick up now where we left off," the senator said, getting frustrated when Tony didn't turn around. "Mr. Stark? Please."

Jess smacked his chest, drawing his attention back around.

"Yes, dear," he addressed the senator, earning chuckles from the crowd of people behind him.

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not."

"You do not…"

"I do not," Tony confirmed, pausing briefly. "Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon."

"The Iron Man weapon."

Jess leaned forward to her mic. "Just to make a note, nobody calls it that."

The senator barely gave her a glance as Tony added to it.

"My device does not fit that description."

"Well, how would you describe your device?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, senator."

"As?"

"Uh, as a… mm, it's a high-tech prosthesis. That's actually the most apt description I could make of it," Tony said, earning laughter again as Jess again stepped in.

"It's defined as a human-powered propulsion device. Much like an aircraft or a jet pack. It's a suit that flies."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark, Miss Norris. I hate to inform you, it's a weapon."

"Please," Tony spoke over him. "If your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizens—"

"No, my priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it."

Jess sighed. "Mr. Stern. Even if you were somehow able to convince Mr. Stark of handing over his suit, no functional citizen would be able to use it. As we saw in the incident at Stark Industries, if you give someone with even the slightest power complex a suit of this type, they're going to use it to do the exact opposite of protecting the country and its citizens. And no offense to any of the servicemen or women here, but many people who get a form of power—be a gun or weapon, or even a position in government—they all tend to misuse it in some form or fashion. It's how we end up with trigger-happy soldiers, traitorous spies, and corrupt government officials.

"Not to mention how much of the technology in the suit would pass right over your head and a majority of the human population who already struggle with technology like smartphones. And you might _think_ that giving the army this sort of suit would help—which I'm assuming it your intention, by dragging Mr. Stark to this pointless meeting—but what happens when something malfunctions and a suit gets left behind on a battlefield? What happens when our enemies get a hold of it and discover its technology, _improve_ on its technology? Now, we've given the world a new war and we're still fighting out the current one. Except this war will cause more deaths than every other war in history because some bigoted moron in a seat of power thought giving irresponsible eighteen-year-olds metal flying suits would bring world peace. How simple-minded do you have to be to believe that?"

The senator bristled, red in the face. "Who the hell is this? Get her out of here!"

"What for?" Jess questioned, sitting back without a care as she flipped through a bundle of papers. "I'm Mr. Stark's lawyer, and nothing I've said is wrong. I'm just stating the facts that you are blind to."

"You're insulting a senator!"

"I've done no such thing. Have I once specified that I was speaking about you in any of my comments? I think I can speak for the whole room when I say our government has been run by corrupt bigots throughout its history. Though, if you _are_ taking a personal offense, then doesn't that say more about you than me?"

Stern only seemed to be getting angrier, and Tony cracked a small smile at Jess's boldness, leaning back up to his mic.

"There's no use arguing with her, Senator. Trust me, I've tried. But what she's basically trying to say is, I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit, would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution depending on what state you're in. Can't have it."

The audience laughed, and Tony smiled at Jess, reaching under the table and giving her leg a squeeze of reassurance, having noticed her jaw working back and forth and her tense shoulders. She visibly relaxed at the touch, as the senator tried again.

"Look, I know an expert."

"In prostitution? Of course not, you're a senator, come on!" Tony quipped, throwing a peace sign to the audience as they chuckled.

He gave Pepper a look, but she gave a brief shake of her head as the Senator continued.

"I'm no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who _is_ an expert on weapons. I now would not like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

Tony gave the slim man a look. "Let the record reflect that I observe Mr. Hammer entering the chamber and I am wondering if and when any _actual_ expert will also be in attendance."

"Also, an expert on who's standards?" Jess questioned, raising a brow. "Because a local mechanic might be an expert on Honda's but that doesn't make him an expert on semi-trucks or airplanes. No offense to Mr. Hammer, but finding a weapons expert in the same league as the Iron Man suit is nearly impossible—sans Mr. Stark. So, having a quote-on-quote 'weapons expert' tucked under the senator's arms seems a bit of a stretch and a setup. As a lawyer, I should know how expert opinions should always come from impartial sources. Namely, those not affiliated with either party. And since Mr. Hammer is obviously associated with the senator and is a clear rival to Stark Industries, his words should be taken with a grain of salt. Biases are being put into play here and make a majority of what is about to be said invalid in a court—which, judging by the gavel and subpoena that brought Mr. Stark here—this is."

She sat back in her chair again as murmurs started up in the crowd and the senator pounded away at his gavel as Justin nervously chuckled into the mic.

"Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Uh, senator? If I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad, Howard Stark. Really a father to us all and to the military-industrial age. But let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion."

Jess raised a brow. "And what does that have to do with anything? It's like you're making a case about the fact that you're second best in the weapons industry because your father was also second best."

"Enough, Miss Norris," the senator snapped, making her raise a brow.

"What? So, he's allowed to verbally attack my client but isn't allowed to get any in return? Sir, I do believe this court hearing for Mr. Stark is so full of bias that there's no point in us being here. This is one competent capable human being trying to explain to you why he should keep his items in his possession, while you find every bloody enemy he has to poke and prod at his past and weaknesses in the hopes that you'll bully him into giving you something to keep your butt in that chair. Speaking of, aren't elections coming up again soon? Is that what this is about? Finding a big enough 'wow factor' to keep your spot in a seat of power?"

Tony couldn't help but comment. "Ooh, you get a little feisty when you're working, don't you?"

"Only with the sort of people who don't follow the rules put in place and think they can get away with it while I'm in the room," Jess huffed, waving a hand. "Though do please, go on. Might as well finish up this circus of yours so I can go back home and sleep soundly knowing my government is in such _capable_ hands," she mocked.

Justin cleared his throat. "In any case, we all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created the sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony. I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats. Threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee."

"Threats that apparently don't threaten Canada," Jess sighed, earning chuckles. "Can't live in a 'world' of grave threats if Canada is apparently safe _without_ Iron Man."

Justin sat back down to the applause of only the senator, who then asked for another person to enter.

"The committee would like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Rhodey?" Tony questioned in shock as murmurs started up again and the media stood to get pictures. "What?"

Tony started to get up, heading over to shake his hand.

"Hey, buddy. Didn't expect to see you here."

"Look. It's me, I'm here, deal with it. Let's move on," Rhodes said back shortly.

"I just, I—"

"Drop it."

"All right. I'll drop it."

They both went to take their seats and Jess gave Rhodes a look.

"Refuse everything he asks for," she stated simply, earning a raised brow.

"Excuse me?"

"This whole thing is a circus. He's grabbing at straws, bringing in his business rival as empirical evidence and turning to selfless bullying tactics to try and get the people to turn on Stark. If he asks for you to read _anything_ from that paper of yours, refuse. This isn't a real court of law. You cannot be punished for refusal and I will back you up on that if it comes down to it."

"Well, you've certainly gotten bolder."

Jess scowled. "I've always been like this. It just gets worse when I'm working on little sleep because some _idiot_ decided to drag us here."

"Tony?"

"Stern."

Rhodes cracked a small smile. "Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"I mean it though. Don't read anything. He'll undoubtedly cut you off before you can finish. He doesn't want context, he wants verbal attacks."

Rhodes nodded as the senator cleared his throat.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon compiled by Colonel Rhodes."

"Doesn't even say weapon on the report," Jess muttered into the mic, earning a glare in return.

"And Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57 paragraph four?"

Rhodes glanced at Jess, who shot him a look saying she told him so, and he tried to explain to the senator. "You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, senator?"

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today, so if you could just read—"

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final—"

"Just read it, colonel. I do."

Rhodes hesitated, before lowering the report. "I refuse."

"Excuse me?"

"I refuse to read only a segment of my report so that it throws a bad light on someone who I consider a friend. I can give you a summary of my report or nothing at all. I will even post it publicly so that the people can read it for themselves _in_ context."

"You do understand that by refusing, you are—"

"Completely and utterly safe by a court of law," Jess jumped in, challenging the senator. "You _requested_ him to read a passage and he refused said request because taking information out of context does not mean anything in a proper court hearing, which—again—this is not. Feel free to challenge me on that, Mr. Stern, but with the media in the room, there are several million eye-witnesses to this injustice and I have more evidence than necessary to back up Rhode's refusal as well as get you kicked out of your position early. So, I suggest you drop the matter of the report and continue with this ridiculous parade, so we can all go home."

"Then, I would like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report, Mr. Rhodes."

Rhodes hesitated, giving Jess a look, but she waved him on and an image appeared on the screen. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are in fact attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit."

Jess nudged Tony, who nodded, letting her know he was on it as he pulled out a device just out of sight to begin hacking into the screen.

"This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these suits are, uh, quite possibly at this moment operational."

"Hold on a second, buddy. Let me see," Tony said, leaning forward and using his phone-like device to hack the television and enhance the image. "Oh, boy, I'm good. I've commandeered your screens," he explained as the crowd began to murmur and he took another one. "I need 'em. Time for a little transparency. Now let's see what's really going on."

"What is he doing?" Stern questioned.

"If you'll direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea," Tony mused, changing the image to that of a large robot falling out of a warehouse and breaking down.

"Can you turn, turn that off," the senator ordered. "Take it off."

"What for?" Jess questioned. "You wanted people to see the Iron Man suit lookalikes. Why are you trying to hide the truth from the people, senator?"

"Iran," Tony continued, changing the image to another failed suit as Justin got up to try and disconnect the video. "No grave immediate threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How'd Hammer get in the game?" He questioned another video feed. "Justin, you're on TV, focus up."

The video of said man showed him trying to get a suit to work only for the soldier wearing it to have his whole upper body twisted completely around, much to the shock of the crowd as he unplugged the TV.

"Wow. Yeah, I'd say, uh, most countries five, ten years away? Hammer Industries, twenty."

"I would like to point out that that test run pilot survived," Justin was quick to throw in.

"Yeah, I don't think that's the point, Hammer," Jess smirked. "Hold on, who's primary weapon's expert, are you? The senator's? Oh, doesn't that mean this whole trial thing was his idea because he couldn't find an expert good enough to make a suit to his liking?"

"I think we're done, is the point that they're making. I, I, I don't think there's any reason to continue talking about it," Stern gave in.

"Point is, you're welcome, I guess," Tony interjected.

"For what?"

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it! But I did you a big favor," he said loudly, standing up and facing the crowd. "I've successfully privatized world peace."

The audience gave him a standing ovation.

"What more do you want? I've tried to play ball with these ass-clowns. Even my lawyer was dancing in circles around them."

"Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy." Stern snapped as Jess snorted.

"Oh, yeah. Big senator man cursing out a national hero. Let's see how well that goes during elections, pretentious asshat."

"We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today. You've been a delight," he said sarcastically as Tony put on his sunglasses and blew kisses.

"Let's go, Jess."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Tony sat at his desk and clapped his hands, starting up some music and making his screens come on with holograms scattered through the room.

"Wake up, daddy's home," he hummed with a snap of his fingers.

"_Welcome home, sir,_" Jarvis responded. "_Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success as was your senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you on a video with your clothing on._"

Jarvis popped up a YouTube video of him at the senate meeting, making Tony chuckle. A blender went off, splattering something green all over his kitchenette, making him scowl over at Dum-E.

"You," he called out, making the arm knock the blender over. "I swear to God, I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack, no matter what Jess says."

The robot lowered its arm with a sad whine as Tony poured himself another glass of his green vegetable juice.

"How many ounces a day of this gobbledygook am I supposed to drink?"

"_We are up to eighty ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir._"

Tony raised his brows as he drank, before pulling out his blood toxicity checker. "Check palladium levels."

"_Blood toxicity, twenty-four percent,_" Jarvis replied as Tony scowled at the spot of blood on his thumb and it brought up scans. "_It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted._"

Tony grimaced as he pulled out his chest piece and ejected the melted chip inside. "God, they're running out quick." He slipped in another core and replaced the chest piece.

"_I have run simulations on every known element and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core. You are running out of time and options._"

Tony lifted his shirt with a few deep breaths, eyeing the checkered pattern encircling his chest piece as Jarvis continued.

"_Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you. Might I suggest informing Jess of this matter and getting her assistance? She may be able to help provide alternatives or at the very least, suggestions on how to prolong—_"

"No, no. I'm not going to drag her into this."

"_Miss Potts and Jess are approaching now, sir. I still recommend that you inform them—_"

Tony dropped his shirt, eyeing the stairs as the two women made for the door and hiding his screen. "Mute." He took one look at Pepper's expression though and pointed back at the door as he drank more juice. "Uh-uh."

"Is this a joke?" Pepper snapped, displeased. "What are you thinking?"

Tony snapped his fingers as he emptied his glass. "What?"

"What are you thinking!" Pepper complained, as Jess sighed and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation.

_She looks tired. Did she sleep at all since we came back?_ Tony thought idly, before holding his hands up in surrender at the other woman charging his way. "Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy and you're angry about something," he hummed, getting up. "Do you have the sniffles? I don't want to get sick. Just keep your distance."

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to, to the—"

"Boy Scouts of America."

"Boy Scouts of America?"

Tony grabbed a blueprint and tossed the hologram into a holographic hoop. "Yes! It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates, but physically, yes. And it's not 'our collection,' it's _my_ collection. No offense," he said, shoving aside more images and snapping his fingers as he threw more holograms into the bin.

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say 'our collection' considering the time that I put in—over ten years—curating that."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"It's a tax write up. I needed that, right Jess?"

Jess held up her hands, back facing them as she looked over a hologram. "Leave me out of this, big shot. I told her I could get it back, but she wanted to discuss things with you first. My suggestion?" Jess looked at him from over her shoulder. "Give it back."

"Duly noted," he grumbled as Pepper went on.

"You know, there's only about eight thousand and eleven things that I really need to talk to you about."

He walked back towards Dum-E and pat the robot. "Dum-E, hey. Stop spacing out. The breach port's already machining that part."

The robot whined as Pepper stopped him from wandering around more.

"The expo is a gigantic waste of time."

"And money," Jess chimed in, waving her hand through the pages of a holographic printout. "And a large source of headaches for your _lawyer_ who's getting more lawsuits in a day than climbers Mount Everest gets in a year."

Tony grabbed Pepper by the arms as she coughed once. "I need you to wear a surgical mask until you're feeling better. Is that okay?"

"That's rude," she countered as Jess snorted.

"There's nothing more important to me than the expo," Tony argued, walking once more. "It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're—"

"The expo is your ego gone crazy," Pepper countered as Tony picked up a blue and red picture of Iron Man.

"Wow, look at that. That's modern art. That's going up."

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding."

"I'm going to put this up right now."

Pepper looked to Jess as Tony made for the painting on the wall by the kitchenette. "Jess? Little help?"

Jess shrugged. "I'm his girlfriend and lawyer, not his mother. Let him put up whatever he feels is art. It's not hurting anyone."

"Wow, thanks for the support, Jess," Pepper sighed. "Why did I bring you down here with me again?"

Jess hummed, heading over and rifling through Tony's fridge for a drink. "I do believe you said something along the lines of: 'He sold my life's work,' 'I'm going to kill him,' and 'You're coming with me because he only listens to you.' Yet, I haven't been able to get more than a few words in, so…"

Pepper groaned as Jess pulled out a beer and popped the cap on the counter with a wiggle of her brows, amused by the whole thing going on in front of her. Pepper continued on with what she'd been complaining to Tony about.

"Stark is in complete disarray," she snapped at him; the two talking over one another.

"Why is it so—"

"Do you understand that?"

"No. Our stocks have never been higher. You are missing—"

"Yes, from a managerial standpoint!"

"Well, if it's messy, then let's double back there."

"Let me give you an example."

"Let's move on to another—"

Pepper then noticed the painting Tony was switching out with his poster. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no."

"—subject."

"You are _not_ taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up."

"I'm not taking it down," Tony argued, shoving the stuff off the countertop and climbing on top of it to hang the poster. "I'm just replacing it with this."

"Okay, fine. My point is, we have already awarded contracts—"

"Yeah."

"—to the wind farm people—"

"Don't say wind farm. I'm already feeling gassy."

"—and to the plastic plantation tree."

"Yeah."

"Which was your idea, by the way."

"Right."

"Those people are on payroll."

"Everything was my idea," he said, gesturing to himself.

"And you won't make a decision!"

"I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert. You do it," he said, hopping off the counter and looking to Jess. "You both do it."

Jess, who'd been bouncing her eyes back and forth between the two arguing for the last few minutes, paused in taking a sip of her beer. "Say what?"

"We do what?" Pepper complained, confused.

"Excellent idea. I just figured this out. You two run the company."

"Oh, no. Hold on a second," Jess cut in, taking one last chug of her beer to finish it off as Pepper bristled.

"Yeah…"

"Pepper, I need you to run the company," Tony declared again.

"We're trying to run the company."

"Well, stop trying to do it and do it."

"You won't—You're not giving me the information that I need—"

"I'm not asking you to _try _to do it. I'm asking you to physically do it."

"—in order to—You're not doing it."

"I need you to do it."

"I _am_ trying to do it!"

"Pepper, you're not listening to me!"

"No, you're not listening to me!"

"I'm trying to make you CEO!" He shouted, finally making her stop and he lowered his voice. "Why won't you let me?"

Pepper leaned in, eyeing him cautiously. "Have you been drinking?"

"Ah, chlorophyll," he answered, taking her by the shoulders. "I hereby irrevocably appoint you chairman and CEO of Stark Industries, effective immediately, with Jess as your second in command."

"Yeah, no. I don't want it," Jess popped up beside them. "I thought that's what you were trying to do, and I've got enough on my plate as your lawyer. Don't add to my workload."

"And I've already been looking for a replacement for your lawyer position, as we discussed before, Jess. This way, you can help me more effectively. Like I said, head tech engineer."

Jess scowled, grabbing his ear and tugging on it harshly.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"I don't _want_ it, you dolt. And even if I did, again, I'm missing the appropriate qualifications, so you wouldn't and _shouldn't_ give it to me until those qualifications are fulfilled."

"I've actually given this a fair amount of thought, believe it or not!" He argued as she let his ear go and Dum-E rolled over with champagne. "Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak. Trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be, and then I realized—" He popped the cap off the champagne bottle and poured some glasses with a smile. "It's you. It's always been you, well, and Jess."

"Don't. Want. It," Jess emphasized as Pepper sank into a chair in shock and Tony continued as if Jess hadn't argued.

"I thought there'd be a legal issue, but according to Jess, I'm capable of appointing my successor. My successor being you two." He handed out the champagne flutes and Jess took it with a scowl, remembering when he'd had her look it up, though she'd thought it would be aimed at someone else; not her.

"And I also said that they have to accept the position first, along with all the paperwork you need to fill out to make it official and explaining the sudden change in managerial status to the board—"

Tony cut her off with a quick kiss, pulling back with a smile only for her hand to snap up and grab his jaw harshly.

"Don't try to silence me with a kiss when I'm upset with you."

"Just thought I'd try it," he muttered through a wince before she let go, making him rub his jaw with a pout. "You really won't take it?"

"No," she huffed. "I like my job now—"

"But people _will_ find out about us."

"And when they do, I will step down. Until then," she sighed heavily and gave him a look. "Get me into the MIT classes."

He beamed. "Really?"

"I told you, I'm not taking a position I'm unqualified for. So, if you're that adamant about me being the head tech engineer or whatever, I'll need the proper certification for it."

He leaned in, pausing at her glare before smiling and kissing her cheek. "It's settled then. I'll get things set up first thing tomorrow morning. Congratulations you two."

"Don't congratulate me yet," Jess grumbled. "You're lucky I've been preparing for this. I've got another lawyer I trust backing up all my lawsuits while we're together too. So, when they do find out we've been together for a while, they won't be able to throw out the cases I've been working on while we were together."

"Clever girl," he purred, looking to Pepper as the woman held back a smile and he lightly pressed the champagne flute to her hands. "Take it. Just take it."

"I don't know what to think."

"Don't think," he advised. "Drink."

"Yeah, thinking about it now might make you change your mind," Jess huffed, lifting her own glass. "And he wouldn't want that."

"Shush you."

* * *

"The notary's here," Pepper called out, making me pause my idle pumping of iron with my right hand as my left stayed steady holding a textbook Tony had gotten me to prepare for the MIT courses. "Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?"

"I'm on happy time," Tony countered back, boxing with Happy in the ring and landing a good hit to Happy's forehead, startling the man in padded equipment. "Sorry."

"What the hell was that?" The man complained.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks now."

"It's called dirty boxing," Happy argued. "There's nothing new about it."

"Now, now, Happy. He's just getting carried away and mixed martial arts _does_ usually involve a bit of combination of martial arts techniques which probably look like dirty tricks to boxers," I chimed in, cracking a small smile despite Happy's frown.

"Then, why don't you fight him?"

"All right."

"Wait, what?" Happy blinked as Tony responded much the same.

"What?"

I put down the iron and textbook, stretching my arms. "I said, all right. I did mostly kung fu back in college and it's been a while, but I'm tired of reading text and he's looking a bit bored, wouldn't you say, Happy?"

Tony blinked but shrugged. "All right. I'll allow it. Come on in, Jess."

Happy let out a soft sigh of relief, clambering out of the ring and pulling off the padding, offering it to Jess, who waved it off.

"No thanks. We'll have a proper spar, eh, Tony?"

"Sounds good. I'll go easy on you."

"Oh, you'll regret that, because I won't go easy on you," I smirked, pulling on some gloves once I climbed into the ring.

I caught sight of a red-head entering the gym then, giving her a brief look before returning my attention to Tony. _He'll notice in a minute._ Sure enough, Tony had seen my gaze drift and turned, frowning at the woman.

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company," Pepper continued as the woman went over towards her with the paperwork.

I lightly knocked Tony in the back of the head with my glove, drawing his attention back to me as I raised a brow.

"You ready?"

"One minute," he replied, turning back as I let out a soft sigh.

_Don't let it get to you. It's just the way he is, _I told myself as he called out to the woman.

"What's your name, lady?"

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center. Come into the church," Tony gestured her in and I rolled my eyes, moving to lean back against the ropes as Pepper groaned.

"No. You're seriously not gonna ask her—"

"If it pleases the court, which it does."

"It's no problem," she said confidently, making me eye her.

_Most women would immediately refuse. Leave it to Pepper to find someone who just takes things as they're thrown._

"I'm sorry," Pepper apologized. "He's very eccentric."

Tony lifted the ropes to let her into the ring and I felt a twinge of jealousy as she ducked slowly under the ropes and he eyed her. _Don't let it get to you. You've done well for six months. Just let it go. Let it go, dammit._ I hadn't realized I was grinding my teeth until Tony cleared his throat.

"Jess, can you, uh, give her a lesson or spar or something?"

I somehow managed to plaster a smile on my face, wondering if he realized how tight it was. "Sure, I suppose so."

"Great."

* * *

Tony slipped out of the ring and settled on the couch next to Pepper as he eyed Jess and Natalie.

"Who is she?" He asked Pepper.

"She is from legal, and she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

"I won't do anything."

"Well, you better tell Jess that," Pepper replied, looking up from her tablet. "She was grinding her teeth earlier."

"Really? How could you tell?"

"How couldn't you?" Pepper countered. "And you leaving her up there is asking for trouble."

"Nah, it's fine." He waved off. "Jess is great at keeping her cool and she doesn't look even the slightest bit upset."

"That's because you're blind and are used to other women. I've told you—"

"She's not like other women. I know." He spoke up louder, interrupting Jess asking if she'd boxed before. "How do I spell your name, Natalie?"

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N," the woman answered as Tony clapped his hands twice and popped up a holographic desktop on the table surface.

"What, are you gonna google her now?" Pepper asked.

"Hm? I thought I was ogling her," he teased, skimming through Natalie's files. "Oh, wow. Very, very impressive individual."

"You're so predictable, you know that?" Pepper sighed.

"She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin. It's a dead language," Pepper answered, a little curious herself now. "You can _read_ Latin, or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin."

Tony enlarged a photo of Natalie in lingerie. "Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she modeled in Tokyo."

"You're caring about looks now?"

"You saying Jess isn't pretty?" He challenged.

"No, I'm just saying she isn't a _model_ type of woman, which is the type you're typically messing around with. So, you ogling at a model while your girlfriend is feet away just seems a little…"

"Petty?"

"Just a bit."

They both looked over at the ring where Jess grunted, taking a hard punch to the gut as Natalie raised a brow.

"You're pretty good," the red-head commented, making Jess's eyebrow twitch.

"Don't patronize me."

Tony and Pepper watched in surprise as the two boxed, each opponent testing the other to see what sort of skills they possessed. When things shifted from normal boxing to something a little more flexible, it was apparent that things weren't going to end well.

"Shouldn't we—"

Tony leaned forward, eyes flickering back and forth between the two as blows were dodged, redirected, and blocked. "Oh, no. This is getting interesting."

Then, Natalie grabbed Jess's wrist, making the woman's eyes go wide as she realized the trouble she was now in. Natalie twisted it, making her grimace and bend forward, allowing Natalie to swing her legs up and grab Jess in a neck lock. Jess was then flipped head over heels onto the floor of the ring.

"Oh my God, Jess!" Pepper cried out in alarm as Jess slapped Natalie's leg around her neck to give in.

Tony headed over as Natalie got up, grinning. "Now, that's what I'm talking about."

Natalie offered Jess a hand up and Jess glared, rolling onto her side and pushing herself up on her own as she rubbed at her neck with a cough. Natalie pulled her offered hand back to her side and slipped out of the ring instead as Happy leaned through the ropes and eyed Jess nervously.

"You all right?"

"Fine," Jess spat, removing her gloves and stepping out herself.

"What about our spar?" Tony asked, leaning around the redhead in front of him to get a look at her, but all he saw was her back.

"Spar with her. I'm going for a run."

He blinked, a little surprised at the icy tone as Jess left, but Natalie approached him and distracted him once more.

"I need your impression."

He eyed the red-head uncertainly. "You have a quiet reserve. I don't know; you have an old soul."

"I meant, your fingerprint," she clarified, holding out the form he needed to sign.

"Right."

Pepper, though worried about Jess, headed over with an 'I told you so' look on her face. "So, how are we doing?"

"Great. Just wrapping up. Hey." He finished signing the form and adding his fingerprint. "You're the boss."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Natalie asked.

"No."

"_Yes_," Pepper pressed. "That will be all, Miss Rushman. Thank you very much."

Natalie walked out, and Tony turned to her.

"I want one."

"You already have one, and she just went out for a run." Pepper shot him a look as she too gathered her things to go. "And I suggest going after her, or at least making this up to her."

"What for? While I didn't expect her to lose the fight, it's nothing to be bothered about."

Pepper sighed. "It wasn't about the spar, Tony. And despite Jess not being like other women, even she's capable of getting jealous. If you want to hang onto her, I suggest you fix things. She's not as lenient about your womanizing as I am."

Tony frowned as she stepped out, finishing his bottle of chlorophyll and looking to Happy. "What do you think?"

Happy shot him a glare too. "I think Jess is too good for you, and you're surprisingly ignorant of woman."

"I take that as a 'go after her,'" Tony grumbled, drumming his fingers on his thigh. "Was she really that upset?"

"You remember her during that senate meeting?"

"Yeah."

"This was ten times that."

Tony winced. "Right. Making it up to her it is."


	5. Chapter 5

"Why did you bring me here?" I snapped, having been rather angry and on edge since Natalie showed up.

After I'd exhausted myself running and had returned back to Tony's home—_my_ home ever since I took his offer to stay in a guest bedroom instead of traveling back and forth—I'd collapsed a sore, achy mess and refused to deal with him until I cooled off. And I had, slightly. She just kept popping up at work. And sure, a part of my anger was my pride at being a decent fighter getting knocked down a few pegs, but there's always someone better than you at something, so I didn't dwell too long on that. _Though I wonder how she had time to practice to that extent with all the education and background she has._ The biggest problem was, I was angry at myself for being angry. Bit convoluted, I know, but I was frustrated at how I'd acted out of jealousy. It wasn't like me to lose my cool and doing so in front of people—much less Tony—made me feel twice as ridiculous as before. Especially now that he was going out of his way to try and fix things. I just couldn't accept the fact that I'd acted that way though, feeling that all of Tony's gifts and surprises weren't things I deserved after acting like a child.

"I told you, there's a racing event today, and a car I bought is going to be in it. I thought you'd like to come with us."

Pepper elbowed my side, giving me a pointed look and I sighed.

"Fine. Thanks, I guess."

She sighed as Tony pouted and we stepped out of the car in front of Hotel De Paris to a crowd of roaring fans and press.

"You know, it's Europe," Tony rambled on to us. "Whatever happens in the next twenty minutes, just go with it."

"Go with it? Go with what?" Pepper questioned, the two of us feeling uneasy with that statement coming from him.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hey," Tony greeted Natalie, removing his sunglasses as I tried to keep from bristling.

"Hello. How was your flight?"

"It was excellent. Boy, it's nice to see you,"

I had to admit, with Natalie working as Pepper's assistant, things were going smoother at the office, especially for her. _And she's a decent person, it's just Tony—_I winced, grinding my teeth until Pepper elbowed me to stop me. _I regret telling her about that bad habit, though I'm sure it pleases my dentist to know that she's keeping me from more dental work._

"We have one photographer from the ACM if you don't mind. Okay?" Natalie explained as a man came over and offered us drinks.

I stopped the man from leaving, leaning over to speak quietly. "Follow me. I don't ever want to see an empty glass, got it? I'll pay extra, especially if it's strong drinks."

"Yes, ma'am," he chirped politely, disappearing in the crowd to restock his tray.

Natalie took our drinks then, making me frown lightly as a photographer stepped forward for pictures as Pepper lightly chewed Tony out.

"When did this happen?"

"What? You made me do it."

"I made you do what?"

"You quit." He nodded to the camera. "Smile. Look right there. Jess, you too."

He hooked an arm around my waist and placed his hand politely on my lower back until I pinched him and he dropped it with a wince.

"Stop acting constipated," he said, either to me or Pepper, I wasn't sure. "Don't flare your nostrils, Pepper. Jess, chin up, polite smile, not too forced."

I smiled sickly sweet. "Don't tell me how to do my job."

"Right this way," Natalie said, leading us further through the hotel's restaurant area once the picture was taken.

"You're so predictable. That's the amazing thing," Pepper commented to Tony as my waiter cleared his throat behind me and I thanked him, grabbing the offered scotch.

I tried not to shatter the glass in my hand when Tony complimented Natalie's appearance, downing the drink with a grimace as Pepper came up behind me and the waiter lightly switched out the empty glass with a full one.

"If you would just talk to him."

"And tell him what?" I grumbled, Pepper having become my sounding board about my current attitude problems.

"Tell him you're jealous and don't appreciate him flirting with every pretty woman he sees."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Do you hear yourself? This is _Tony_ we're talking about."

She sighed. "He might change for you."

"But I don't _want_ him to change because of me," I argued, watching as Tony stepped away with Natalie. "He shouldn't have to change because I can't keep my temper."

"And he should realize that he's upsetting you by flirting with other women and _do_ something about it."

"No. It's my problem. I know how he is, and I should be managing this better."

"Jess, you can't put all of this on you. Nothing's going to change if you don't tell him what's bothering you. You can't stay angry forever."

"I'm angry at myself, not him."

"And he doesn't know that." She nodded towards Tony as he glanced back at us. "He's doing this stuff for you, you know."

"I know," I muttered, feeling shame well up in me as I sipped my drink. "I'll think about it."

Pepper cracked a smile. "That's all I want. Though, could you also be friendlier with Natalie? I know it's a lot to ask, but the tension in the office is a bit…"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll figure something out."

"Thanks," Pepper smiled, stepping away to go greet a businessman she recognized.

I drank some more scotch before Tony approached me.

"You want a massage?"

"No," I grumbled, trying to keep Pepper's words in mind and not be snippy about things.

"I'll have Natalie make an—"

"_No_," I pressed.

"I don't want you to be tense," he explained, leading me through the restaurant as Pepper caught up with us. "By the way, I didn't mean to spring this on you."

We stopped by the bar and he leaned on the table, facing me.

"Have I done something to upset you?"

"What do you think?" I said, holding out my glass as my waiter refilled it again.

"I think you've hired someone to follow you with a full bottle of scotch, typically meaning yes."

"Give the man a prize," I muttered, drinking again.

"Look, if I did something, you have to tell me—"

"Anthony, is that you?" Someone chimed in and Tony begrudgingly looked away from me.

"My least favorite person on Earth, Justin Hammer."

"Hey, pal. How you doing?" Justin asked, patting his shoulder as Pepper shot me a look from my left.

"_Tell him_," she mouthed, making me frown into my glass.

"You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," Justin continued, unperturbed by Tony's obvious disinterest. "You know, Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair? You guys know each other?"

Christine headed over, smiling at me and for once, I was able to smile back without the tenseness from before. "Hi, Jess."

"Hello, Christine."

"Yes, yes, we do roughly know each other," Tony interjected, stepping a little in front of me and making Christine raise a brow.

"BTW, big story," Justin said, pointing at Pepper as she smiled politely. "The new CEO of Stark Industries. Congratulations."

"I know, I know," Christine said politely. "My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue. Can I?"

"Oh, sure," Pepper smiled, looking a little shocked.

"You too, Jess, if you don't mind. You've been a big help so far, and I know you're an expert in your field."

I smiled a little sheepishly. "If you want, yeah."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair," Justin cut in. "I thought I'd throw her a bone, you know."

Christine and I exchanged a look at that. _He seems like a prick._

_You don't know the half of it._

_Editor's idea?_

_After the senate meeting? Yeah._

_Shame._

_You and I could always…_

_I'll set something up._ I winked, drinking some more as she cracked the slightest hint of a smile. Pepper seemed to have noticed the exchange too, clearing her throat.

"Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year."

"And she wrote a story as well," Tony added.

"It was very impressive."

"I helped her set it up," I tacked on. "She's the best journalist I know. You better treat her right, Hammer, or we might just have a problem."

The threat was taken with a choking cough from Justin as the drink he'd been sipping went down the wrong tube.

"R-Right."

Pepper stepped away then, giving me a pointed nod at Tony, but Justin was quick to drape his arm over Tony's shoulders.

"Hey, buddy. How you doing?"

"I'm all right."

"Looking gorgeous."

"Please, this is tough," Tony argued, looking to me for help as a photographer popped up to take their picture. "Could you not—"

"Can I ask you," Christine started as Tony put his sunglasses back on, "is this the first time you guys have seen each other—"

"Fromage. Say brie!" Justin chuckled as Tony forced a laugh.

"God, that's so awful."

"Listen," Christine cut in again, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she got serious. "Is it the first time you've seen each other since the senate?"

"Uh, since he got his contract revoked when you were attempting to…"

"Actually, it's on hold," Justin tried to argue as Tony grabbed my elbow and started to walk off.

"That's not what I heard. What's the difference between 'hold' and 'canceled?'"

"Yes, what is?" Christine asked, Justin following after us as I jerked my elbow out of Tony's grip.

"The truth?"

"No, the truth is, um, why don't we put that away." He shoved away Christine's recorder as Tony pulled out a chair at a table and sat me down in it, much to my annoyance.

_He knows I don't like it when he does this._

"The truth is, I'm actually hoping to present something at your expo," Justin explained.

"Well, if you invent something that works, I'll make sure I get you a slot," Tony offered as we all sat down, and a waiter dropped off some menus.

Then, of course, Natalie appeared at his elbow.

"Mr. Stark, your corner table is ready."

Tony smiled at me, though I frowned and finished off my drink once more as we got up. My faithful waiter appeared to refill the glass in my hand as Tony made one last crack at Justin. He then gave me a look.

"Anyway, to continue from before we were so rudely interrupted," he started. "If I've done anything—"

"You haven't done anything," I grumbled, cutting him off. "I'm just being stupid."

He raised a brow. "I hardly believe that. You? Being anything less than overtly intelligent?"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not. Honestly, I'm not," he said sincerely as we neared the table he'd made Natalie procure for us. "Just talk to me, Jess. You're obviously tense about something. Let me fix it."

"You can't fix everything, you know."

"I can certainly try."

I sighed heavily as we sat down, suddenly wishing Pepper were with us and not Natalie. _In fact…_ "Natalie, could you go find Pepper for us?"

"Of course, Miss Norris."

"I told you—" I sighed as she headed off. "It's Jess."

Tony snorted into his glass of water, making me shoot him a glare.

"Shut it, you."

"Oh, so we're back to teasing again?"

I pursed my lips, turning my gaze out the window and he sighed.

"Jess, come on. I'm trying, you know that, don't you?"

"If the trip to Monaco and the dozens of gifts you've been unsuccessfully throwing at me mean anything, then yes. You're trying in a way only you could."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"I told you. _I'm_ the problem."

"No, there's got to be something more than that. Come on. Explain it to me. Dumb it down," he hummed, leaning back in his chair. "I could order some more drinks. Loosen your tongue, if you want. Liquid courage?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just…" I grimaced, not wanting to say it.

"I won't judge you, Jess."

"I'm jealous," I muttered, shifting my glance back to him. "Of Natalie."

"Her? Why? I mean, she _did_ kick your butt in sparing."

"Because of how you look at her," I answered, looking away again and catching my reflection in the glass of the window. _A tired, slim, butchish woman with not even an ounce of the beauty Natalie or Christine have. What does he even see in me?_ "It's stupid, so I'm angry that I'm acting jealous. It's not you."

He raised a brow. "Isn't it?"

I shook my head. "No. No, it's really not. I know how you are. Six months of being with you has taught me enough. I'm not going to make you change who you are just because I can't keep control over some stupid jealousy."

"You're right. You are stupid."

I rolled my eyes, drinking some more scotch before he continued.

"You're stupid because you didn't even bother to tell me until now. You might not want to make me change, but who said I'm not willing to anyway?"

I shot him a look of disbelief. "You know, I'm on like, my fifth drink, so why is it _you're_ the one who sounds drunk."

He cracked a smile, leaning forward and lightly touching the back of my hand where a scar lay from back when I'd broken into his house months ago. "I really do only have eyes for you."

I snorted. "Sure you do."

"I do. I might act like I don't. Women still catch my eye, but I'm done with sleeping around. Especially if it makes you act like this. I'd like to keep my options open, but meh." He shrugged, pulling his hand away. "Pepper and Happy have been telling me it's my fault. And I promised to fix things. So, I'll fix it. Don't expect me to be perfect though."

I snorted, managing a small, honest smile myself. "You? Perfect?"

He cracked a smile in return, before pushing up from the table. "Restroom," he replied to my look of question and I hummed, waving him off as Pepper headed over, catching my gaze with a smirk.

_Oh, here we go._

"So? How was your talk?"

"Don't start."

"Come on," she pushed lightly. "You made up?"

I huffed but couldn't help the small upturn to my lips. "Yeah, yeah we did."

"That's great! Is he going to stop showering you with gifts?"

I snorted. "Tony? Never." I swirled the scotch in my glass. "God, Pepper. I honestly don't deserve him."

"Um, excuse me? I think it's the exact opposite, to be honest." She lifted her own drink, eyeing me over the rim. "What has you so suddenly pessimistic?"

"Look at me, Pepper. Like really look. I'm a mess! An abused child, partially blind, I killed my own father for Pete's sake and even now, I'm nothing but a miserable, tired, masculine—"

"And incredibly intelligent, strong, independent and an overall powerful woman," she interrupted. "Just because you might not see that, doesn't mean he's blind to it."

"There's plenty of other women out there who are strong and smart _and_ beautiful."

"And he's probably slept with half a dozen of them, but he hasn't _stayed_ with them for a reason. Nobody has ever mattered to him this much until you. You keep him intrigued."

"And what happens when he gets bored?" I grumbled, mind bouncing off any number of 'what ifs' as the alcohol started to get to me. "And what about this Iron Man thing? It's only going to bring in more women who are better than me, and I couldn't even keep my cool around one."

"God, if I knew you were such a depressed drunk," she stopped then, her eyes going wide as she caught sight of something over my shoulder.

"What?" I questioned with a frown. "What? Is Tony naked again, because I swear I'll—" I cut myself off upon catching sight of the television screen where Tony waved off an angry driver and was preparing to climb into one of the racecars.

"Natalie. Natalie!" Pepper called the woman over as I gaped, downing the rest of my scotch and waving away the man who'd finished refilling it.

I think I'd had enough to drink for one afternoon, especially if I wasn't imagining what was happening on screen.

"Did you know about this?" Pepper asked Natalie, frantic.

"Uh, this is the first that I have known of it," the red-head responded.

"This… This cannot happen."

"Absolutely, I understand. How can I help you?"

"Get Happy," I blurted out, standing up and turning to them, downing the entire glass in one quick gulp and grimacing. "I'm heading down there. Pepper get the case and the car. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to kill him, and I'm going to use his damn suit to do it too."

"S-Seriously?"

"No, not really, but I'm going to cause a scene and need a quick getaway. Christine is undoubtedly drawing in more press by the minute if she saw this. So, we really need to—What the hell…"

On screen, a man had stepped out onto the track, as confident as ever and pulled open his shirt to reveal a glowing chest piece.

"Yeah, Pepper, scratch that last bit. The case is now mandatory, and I guess we're all going," I muttered as Happy appeared and lifted the case.

* * *

"Go, go!" Pepper urged Happy on and he raced the car towards the gates leading out onto the racetrack nearest the hotel.

"Hold on!"

The trio sped out onto the racetrack, Happy expertly dodging cars as he did and Jess grimaced.

"Yeah, remind me to get Tony to look into more sportscars for you to drive instead of this thing. Do you know how to activate the case?"

"It needs Tony and a key. That's all I know!"

"Okay, personal note number two, remind me to change that. Pepper, get your phone out, follow what's going on."

"Right!" She whipped out her phone and gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

Jess leaned over and cursed under her breath. The man who'd stepped out onto the track also had some sort of electrified whip and had just sliced through Tony's car. The vehicle flipped and crashed into the pavement, potentially trapping Tony or knocking him out.

"Happy, ram the guy."

"You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm fucking serious. Tony might not be able to get out. We need to stall. Hit him, and don't get out of the car. I don't know what those whips are, but electricity isn't good."

Explosions went off as more racers collided behind the whip-wielding man, and Jess grabbed the case.

"Key?"

"It's in my pocket."

"Car!" Pepper warned, making him narrowly miss a yellow racecar as it zoomed by.

"Pepper, how's Tony?" Jess asked, digging through Happy's suit pocket for the key. "And if you say one inappropriate jab, I'm suing you for everything you own, Happy."

"N-Noted."

"The man just whipped through the car, but he's not in it. He got out!" She grimaced then.

"I take it, he didn't run."

"He, um, attacked the man with a car door."

"Great. Ah! Got it!" Jess grinned as she pulled out the key and settled back into the passenger seat. "And if Tony's smart, he'll hold that guy off. How's he doing?"

"He was thrown, but there's a car on fire between them now. How far are we?"

"Two seconds!" Happy said. "Incoming!"

"Brace yourself, Pepper!" Jess shouted as they sped around the corner and the car slammed into the orange-suited man, pinning him to the gate and wall surrounding the track.

"Are you okay!" Tony called out, jumping down from the gate and coming over to the side of the car.

"Yeah," Happy said, as Pepper struggled not to panic and Jess grimaced, blinking spots out of her vision.

"Were you heading for me or for him, because I can't tell!" Tony snapped.

"It was my idea, you dunce," Jess complained, just as Pepper screamed at Tony.

"Are you out of your mind!"

"Better security!" Tony argued.

"Get in the car right now!"

Jess too bristled. "And what would security do against an electro-whip-wielding maniac!"

"I was attacked!"

There was a subtle whir of machinery and Jess's head snapped back to the front.

"O-Oi! Whip-man's waking up!"

The whip snapped out just as Tony opened the side door, slicing it in half as Happy screamed with Pepper, backing the car up and ramming it repeatedly into the dangerous man.

"Hit him again! Hit him again!" Tony encouraged as Jess opened the door and stumbled out herself, not wanting to be in the car of panicked people any longer.

"Christ you two can scream." She shoved the case into Tony's hands. "Take the case and do something, but let it be known, _I_ want to be able to do something next time, so I'm changing the locks on your suits."

"Oh, don't do that. They're _my_ suits!"

The whip snapped out and sliced through the car, making them both leap into action.

"Open the damn case!" Jess shouted, moving around behind the car and jumping to narrowly avoid being hit by the end of the whip that came slamming back down.

She scrambled to get up, rushing around to the side of the car and yanking the door open on Pepper's left, just as the whip came down again, slicing a chunk of the car off. Jess whipped out a mouthful of curses at the intense burning sensation that ran across her back, but pushed through it as she pulled Pepper from the car and Tony was finally suited up enough to push the car away and go after the man.

Pepper clung to Jess's arm as the man turned his attention to Tony, but Jess was quick to push from her own stupor and nudge her towards the managed car.

"Get Happy out. We need to go."

"G-Go? Go where!"

"Away from here! He can't fight this guy and protect us at the same time!"

Tony was grabbed by the whips then and thrown at them, making Jess's eyes widen before tackling Pepper out of the way.

"Move, dammit!" She shouted at the other woman, pulling her up and shoving her towards the car where Happy was staring in shock. "Happy, can the car—" Before Jess could finish her sentence, Tony was thrown into the hood of the car and Jess groaned. "Never-fucking-mind then."

Tony was kneeling on the ground though, struggling with the electricity that was threatening to short-out his system.

"Tony, you idiot!" Jess called out, mind racing a mile a minute as her back throbbed and adrenaline surged her forward to get Happy out of the car. "Think about the weapon itself, not the electricity!"

"Jess, I honestly love you sometimes," Tony replied, reaching up and wrapping his arm around the whip before curling it around himself until he was right up in front of the man and able to attack him in hand-to-hand instead.

It was easy then, to swing him to the ground and remove the power source in the man's chest, rendering him incapable of much further harm. The crowd that had gathered cheered as armored men gathered the man up and Jess sank against the car in relief. The man spat blood at Tony, cackling.

"You, you lose! You lose. You lose, Stark!" He laughed as he was dragged off, and Tony took one look at the chest piece in his hand before crushing it.

"Oh, my God! Jess!"

He turned around at the concern and panic in Pepper's voice, seeing Jess sagging heavily against the car and the blackened, bleeding gash that ran across her left shoulder towards her spine. His eyes widened as he hurried over and grabbed her arm to keep her upright.

"I'm fine," she tried to shove him off, though the grimace and sweat on her face argued differently.

A quick analysis argued that she wasn't, and he tried to explain as much to her, but she shot him a dirty glare before he could.

"I've dealt with pain all my life," she snapped. "So, believe me when I say that I can handle this."

"Jess, I—"

"Shut up," she stopped him, placing a hand against the chest of his suit. "Shut up and go find out who the hell that guy was and why he had your tech. I'm not dying, so right now, that's your priority, got it?"

He wanted to argue, but she managed a small smile.

"Go, you Iron Moron."

And he did, anger welling in him for the man who'd done this as she was ushered into the back of an ambulance.

* * *

I shifted with a grimace in the plane, quickly waving off Pepper's concern as we turned our attention back to the senator on the news station.

"_It's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man has no idea what he's doing. He thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy._"

"He was attacked in broad daylight by a knock off," I grumbled. "Like to see what Senator Stick-Up-His-Ass would do in that situation. Hell, half the soldiers I know wouldn't have dealt with it as well as he did."

Pepper sighed heavily. "It doesn't change what he did."

I frowned, agreeing with her on that. He still hadn't explained to either of us what he was thinking by jumping into a racecar like an eager five-year-old child. _He's hiding something. I just know it. And with how Tony is, he's not going to tell us until he figures it out. So, I've got to get answers. Maybe Jarvis will tell me…_ I immediately grimaced at the thought, shifting again in the chair as my back throbbed under the thick bandages the hospital put me in. _No, I shouldn't go around his back like that. I've just got to get him to slip up._

"_I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark, in fact, was adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to ten years. And here we are in Monaco realizing, uh oh. these suits exist __**now**__._"

"Mute."

We both looked over at Tony as he stepped out with two covered food trays.

"He should be giving me a medal. That's the truth."

Pepper eyed the tray he placed before me and on a table before her, laying out silverware. "What is that?"

I gave Tony a raised brow. "You cooked?"

"This is your inflight meal."

Even Pepper was a bit confused. "Did you just make that?"

"Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?"

I huffed, picking up a fork and prodding at the omelet. "Well, if I'm lucky, you were answering work calls about your latest crazy idea. You ready to tell us what you were thinking yet? What you're trying to hide from us?" I asked, lifting my eyes to his, where I saw his gaze shift to the hint of bandage peeking out of my loose shirt.

"I don't want to go home. At all."

"So, don't," I shrugged, regretting it instantly at the flare of pain and dropping my fork, which Tony was quick to grab. "Damn."

"Careful," he murmured, pausing to watch me attempt to prod at his food again. "Let's just cancel my birthday party and, and, uh… We're in Europe. Let's go to Venice, Cipriani. Remember?"

Pepper scoffed, apparently the two of them sharing a fond memory from Cipriani. "Oh, yes."

"It's a great place to be to, to… be healthy."

My eyes narrowed at those words, something Tony never really mentioned out loud was his heath kicks—his disgusting green juice being the only thing he actively boasted about. _Is something wrong with his health? He seems fine, other than the whole metal in his chest… thing…_ The argument going on between a reluctant Pepper and Tony flew in one ear and out the other as my gaze drifted to the lump under Tony's shirt. _His chest piece… Something's wrong. That explains everything. The sudden increase in drinking his stupid juice, the, the racecar thing. He's acting out, doing crazy things, because…_

"He's dying," I murmured under my breath, not realizing I'd said it out loud, though they hadn't apparently heard me.

_Do I let them know I know? Pepper, probably not. She'd panic. Hell, __**I'm**__ a little panicked right now. What do I do? What __**can**__ I do? Is there anything I can do? No, I can't panic. I can't let it show._ And yet, my hands were shaking, and I forced myself to set my fork down. _So, what? I let Tony know? I question him? He'll just deny it, and even then, __**what can I do? **_I suddenly felt very tired and excused myself from that section of the plane to the restroom where I splashed water on my face to try and knock myself out of it.

"Either way, I need to help. He can't do it alone. This damn racecar stunt proves that. He's giving up, dammit." I pressed a hand to my face, wishing beyond anything else that I could go on a long, exhausting run as I grit my teeth. "Dammit, Tony. Why couldn't you just tell me?"

* * *

"Yes, but the fundamentals of the company are still very, very strong despite the events in Monaco."

"Yes, of course." Natalie leaned forward to speak with Pepper. "The AP wants a quote."

"Don't tell him. Fax them," I responded, walking in from the kitchen and plopping a raspberry in my mouth. "Word of mouth is never a good thing in cases like these. Paper proof only. And, uh, thanks, for covering for me while I'm recovering."

Natalie cracked a small smile. "Of course, Jess."

I managed a small one back, having done my absolute best to push aside any jealousy over her since my discussion with Tony. Not because of him, really, but she didn't honestly seem to care about his advances and I had to applaud her for that, and for the actual work she does with Pepper around the office. Or, Tony's home in this case. Ever since we'd landed, the office had become ground zero for the mess Tony had started. His home was secure enough to keep a majority of the press and others away, so it had become the base for the moment as Pepper and Natalie tried to start fixing things. I offered to help, but Pepper had been keen to shoo me away to sleep as per doctor's orders because I had apparently pushed my body into exhaustion as well before I'd been clipped by the electrified whip. _That, and sitting in a chair too long, hurts. It'll definitely be tender for a while. Dealing with child abuse has at least allowed me to learn how long it'll take me to heal. _The door opened then, and I nearly groaned as Rhodey stepped in, looking ticked.

"Where is he?"

Natalie turned. "He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Pepper though had no such problems. "He's downstairs."

Natalie looked at her in surprise as I nodded to the staircase.

"I'll come with you, Rhodey."

"Thanks," he muttered, some of his bite disappearing as we headed down, me a little slower than usual. "How's the back?"

"Been better. Go figure I'm the one who gets hurt though."

"Yeah, you _are_ kind of accident prone, aren't you? First, you get shot, now this?"

"Both were _not_ my fault and were only a result of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You mean, next to Tony."

I paused on the steps, looking to him with a frown. "Don't you start."

He held up his hands in defense. "I'm just saying."

"Look, I get that he's reckless and jumps into danger headfirst, but ever since he was taken in Afghanistan, all he's ever done is try to help."

Rhodey raised a brow. "By getting you shot and jumping into a racecar only to get attacked by a maniac?"

I sighed. "It's _Tony_. He likes to make noise. You make enough noise, you get people who dislike you. That's how the world works. Trust me, I've worked under rich and famous people long enough to know. The thing is, he's _trying_ to be good. He hasn't quite worked it out yet but look at the alternative. You tell me. How many soldiers out there do you think will actually do the right thing in one of his suits, hm? You're one of the few people who know about Stane. He was a decent guy too until he got power and look what that power did in the end. It got him and a number of others hurt or killed. Tony is someone who doesn't allow that power to go to his head."

"You can't be serious."

"You know what I mean!" I hissed, making sure we weren't being overheard. "Yes, he is a narcissist and sometimes acts like a child who just got a new toy for Christmas, but as Iron Man, he's doing good. As much good as he can. All I'm saying is give him a chance, and for right now, just be a friend. Because that's what he needs right now."

Rhodey frowned, catching the look on my face. "Hold on. Something's going on, isn't there?"

"That's for him to explain," I muttered, starting down the steps again. "He doesn't know I've worked it out either. I haven't found a good way to bring it up, but it's… not good."

"I'll… keep that in mind."

We reached the door to the lab and I entered the key code, allowing us to step in where Tony was seated in one of his cars looking over holographic information hovering in front of him.

"Tony, you've got to get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now," Rhodey declared firmly, making me sigh.

_Go figure._

"Listen. I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up PCH, knocking on your front door and taking these." Rhodey pointed at the suits lined up on the wall, trying to get the point across, but I was eyeing Tony.

_He's too quiet._

"They're gonna take your suits, Tony, okay? They're sick of the games."

I stepped over to the car, ignoring how Tony pointedly ignored me. _He's pale, sweating. God, I was right, wasn't I?_ I then glanced at the information on the hologram he'd pulled up. On a man named Ivan Vanko. _Arrested for selling weapons-grade plutonium illegally. Physicist. Father was accused of espionage and deported. So, what's the connection? Why's he got problems with Tony? Something to do with Ivan's father maybe? Did Tony or Howard have a part in his deportation? So, what? A revenge plot?_

"You said nobody else would possess this technology for twenty years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday."

"Did he help make it?" I asked, speaking quietly, but enough to get both the angry Rhodey and Tony's attention.

"What?" Rhodey questioned as I pointed at the hologram.

"Ivan Vanko. His father was a physicist like he was and was deported from the U.S. for possible spying. I was at the senate meeting just like you. Nobody else is capable of coming up with this technology on their own, except the ones who came up with it in the first place. Ivan already said at the racetrack that he was after Tony. This is a grudge. So, since Tony has no idea who he is, my guess is this guy's father was deported from the U.S. after working for Howard Stark and coming up with the suit. Or, well, the chest piece thing, I guess. I'm still not entirely sure how that thing works."

"You're defending him again?" Rhodey complained.

"Please. I'm a lawyer. It's my job, so yeah. I am. But you've got to admit, it makes sense as a theory, right?"

Rhodey sighed heavily, running a hand over his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it does, but it doesn't stop the rest of the world from seeing it one way."

"Never said it would. Just wanted to figure something out." I glanced at Tony. "Did I get it right?"

He managed a smile, but it looked pained, making mine slip from my face as he opened the car door. "Better than anything I've got."

He couldn't even get out of the car before he was sinking to the ground and Rhodey went to help him up, seeing as I couldn't with my injury.

"You all right?"

"Yeah," Tony lied. "I should get to my desk."

I was quick to head over. "What do you need?"

He seemed surprised that I wasn't questioning him but waved a hand as Rhodey helped him over.

"Cigar box. Palladium."

I opened it as Tony fell into his chair and pulled out his chest piece the same time I grabbed one of the palladium plates from inside it, understanding dawning on me. _He's frying the cores. Whatever is powering that is too much for the system it's in and is frying it away piece by piece. Which means…_ I grimaced as Rhodey eyed the smoking core of Tony's chest piece.

"Is that supposed to be smoking?"

"If you must know, it's neutron damage. It's from the reactor wall."

_It's slowly frying him too._ I took the chest piece from him, carefully pulling out the blackened, charred core and replacing it with the new one, handing it back without a word—though I could feel Tony's eyes watching me the whole time.

"You had this in your body?" Rhodey questioned, eyeing the fried piece of metal. "And what about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?"

My gaze shifted to the odd zigzag pattern trailing up the side of his neck. _Poisoning him from the inside out. He needs a better conductor as a core, but he'd smart enough to know that. He would have been using a new one now if he could. So… he doesn't have one. He's dying because the device saving his life is trying to kill him too. _

"Road rash," Tony lied again, eyes latching onto mine as I stared back evenly.

_I know, you idiot. Don't lie to me._ _Let me help. Help me figure out what to do to help you._

Tony let out a soft sigh of relief as he finally tore his gaze away from me and replaced the chest piece, turning away and drinking his juice before grumbling back at us.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you," Rhodey replied, as I kept my mouth shut. "You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."

"You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do," Tony snapped, making that heaviness in my chest sink lower. "But you've got to trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing."

"And what about her, huh?" Rhodey gestured to me and I sighed heavily.

"Rhodey, don't."

"No, I'm going to, because you're getting caught up in this too. He says he's fine working alone, but you're here running around saving his business, defending him in courts, defending him to me and the media. You're out there getting _hurt_ trying to help him." Rhodey whipped back around to Tony. "And you're still going to say you're better off alone?"

Tony looked me right in the eye. "Yes."

Rhodey was silent before shaking his head. "No. No, you're an idiot. You're a damn—" Rhodey bit back his curse, lowering his voice as he started for the door, shooting me one last look. "Get out of this, Jess. I don't know how you've managed to stick around him for this long, but you need to go. It's obvious how little he cares for you and I don't want you taking the fall for his mistakes."

I almost laughed, managing a shaky smile instead as I looked to Rhodey. "Then, I must be twice the idiot he is, because I'm not leaving him, Rhodey."

Rhodey shook his head, stepping through the door and leaving.

"Why didn't you tell me you were dying?" I questioned, not looking away from the glass doors Rhodey stepped out of.

"Who says I'm dying?"

"I do, because I'm not stupid, Tony." I sat on a spare chair he'd moved into the lab for when we worked together on his suit.

"You just said you were twice as stupid as me."

"Tony."

He was quiet for a second. "When did you figure it out?"

"The plane trip back from Monaco. I didn't say anything, because I was still trying to figure it out and didn't know how to bring it up to talk about it," I explained. "The core of your chest piece is poisoning you because it's not a good enough conduit for the energy keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart. Like radiation, except more…" I waved a hand at my neck. "…visible."

"You don't have to worry about it. I've got it figured out. I know—"

"The hell you do," I cut in. "Because you're not stupid either, Tony. If you had another core that could work better, you'd have used it by now instead of almost collapsing down here. If Rhodey and I hadn't come down, what were you going to do? Crawl to your desk?"

He pursed his lips, not answering and I winced, forcing myself to push aside the anger for his recklessness and the stress of discovering the seriousness of his condition.

"What… What I mean to say is…" I ran a hand through my hair. "I might not be the best person for this; I might not know as much, but what can I do to help?"

"Why? Rhodey is right. You should just go. You've already been hurt because of me. I don't want to have to risk myself to keep you safe."

_God, he's making it so difficult to be nice when he's being such a dick._ "Yeah, I know what you're doing."

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, I do. Six months of us being together, and you don't think I know when you're being cruel to try and push me away to protect me? See, Rhodey was right. You are stupid, but you care more than you let on. I wouldn't be with you if you didn't, because I've seen what it's like for someone to be cruel and not care in the slightest. And what you're doing is the exact opposite of that. So, stop being depressed. Stop being mean to me like a dumbass and tell me what it is I can do to help."

"Jess, I really don't think—"

"Jarvis?" I called out, standing up.

"_Yes, Miss Norris._"

"Tell me what he needs so I can get working on it."

Jarvis sounded almost amused. "_Of course, Miss Norris._"

"Also, get me some schematics. I'm tired of getting hurt because I'm stuck standing around."

Tony heaved a sigh. "I hate when you team up on me."

"And since you're being a dick, I'll take it as us being even," I chirped, leaning over and kissing his jaw. "Now, no more moping. If you're not going to help me down here, get your butt upstairs to help Pepper and Natalie with your business."

He wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Yeah, no. I'll stay here, thanks."

"Good. Order some food. It's going to be a long night."


	6. Chapter 6

Rhodes pulled up to Tony's home, handing off his car keys and stepping into the birthday party Tony was throwing, after having just dealt with even more people trying to interfere with Tony's Iron Man suits. He was beginning to get really tired of sticking his neck out for his annoyingly flamboyant friend.

"Hey, Pepper," he called out, hoping to talk with her about Tony, but she looked as displeased as ever.

"I'm going to go get some air."

Rhodes blinked, surprised. "What's wrong?"

She sighed heavily before leading him to the main room where Tony was dressed in the Iron Man suit, carrying a bottle and tripping over himself—obviously drunk.

"I don't know what to do."

"You've gotta be kidding me," he muttered as Tony toppled off the side of the small stage. _I knew he was sick, but seriously?_ "That's it. I'm making—"

"No, no, no," Pepper stopped him. "Don't call anyone."

"Pepper, this is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy!" He snapped, losing his temper and his patience for his friend.

"I know. I know, I know. I get it. Just let me try something and if it doesn't work, you go get Jess."

"Jess?"

"She's resting downstairs in the lab. Her back was bothering her, and she said that was the quietest place. If anyone can stop him, it's her."

"Fine. Handle it, or I'm gonna have to."

She nodded, heading for the stage as Tony stood in front of everyone.

"You know, the question I get asked most often is, 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" He took a breath, before scrunching his face and grinning at the crowd. "Just like that."

The crowd cheered as he doubled over in giggles and Pepper stepped up, taking the mic from him with a forced smile.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" She asked, earning cheers.

Tony leaned to the mic. "I love you, Jess."

Pepper's smile twitched, silently wishing Jess was actually there to hear him, if not help her deal with him.

"Unbelievable. Thank you so much. Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now and thank you all for coming."

The crowd whined in complaint that the party was over, and Tony stopped her.

"No, no, no, no, no. We can't—Wait, wait, wait, wait. We didn't have the cake. We didn't blow out the candles."

"You're out of control, okay? Trust me on this one, okay?" She tried to reassure him.

"Where's Jess? She's out of control gorgeous, you know."

"It's time to go to bed. It's time. Jess is already waiting for you downstairs. You're not going to be happy about this later, and you know she won't either. Just send everybody home, okay? It's time to…"

"If you say so," he gave in.

"Okay. I'll take this, you take that." She switched out his bottle for the mic, keeping an eye on him as he spoke to the crowd once more.

"Pepper Potts," he hummed, earning soft claps. "She's right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago. The after-party starts in fifteen minutes!"

The crowd cheered as Pepper and Rhodey exchanged exasperated looks across the floor.

"And if anybody—Pepper—doesn't like it, there's the door."

His suit basted through the glass between the crowd and the way out, startling everyone for a moment before the crowd grew even more excited. A blonde woman eve began throwing things up for Tony to shoot at, and by then, Rhodey had had enough. Rhodey hurried downstairs, punching in the code for the lab and giving one glance at the sleeping Jess on a sofa before making for the assortment of Iron Man rejects on the wall. Once suited up, he headed back upstairs and spoke loudly to the crowd.

"I'm only gonna say this once. Get out."

The crowd hurried out as the faceplate came down and he faced Tony.

"You don't deserve to wear one of these. Shut it down!"

Tony turned, looking at the DJ stand. "Goldstein."

The DJ hesitantly poked his head back up. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Give me a phat beat to beat my buddy's ass to," he chuckled as "Another One Bites the Dust" began to play and Rhodes grabbed him from behind.

"I told you to shut it down."

Ignoring the order, Tony dropped the mic, allowed his own faceplate to come down, and threw the both of them backwards through the wall, sauna, and into the gym.

"Now, put that thing back where you found it before someone gets hurt," Tony ordered, starting to walk out.

Rhodes though threw a weight and bounced it off the back of his head, preparing to throw another.

"Really?" Tony questioned, dodging it and picking up some barbells.

He swung it at Rhodes, knocking him through the boxing ring and hovering over him.

"Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn't have a sidekick."

Rhodes picked up the corner post and began to hit him with it. "Sidekick this!"

Tony grabbed it, only for Rhodes to knock his foot out from under him and throw him through the ceiling into a bedroom.

"Had enough?"

Meanwhile downstairs, Pepper called out to Natalie, who hurried over in concern.

"Miss Potts?"

"Don't you 'Miss Potts' me. Ever since you came here, Jess has had a hell of a time trying to control—" Pepper was cut off as Rhodes and Tony fell through the ceiling and Happy rushed in to get her out of there. "No! No, go get Jess! She's in the lab! Hurry!"

"On it!" He called out, moving her out into the crowd and rushing downstairs himself as Tony and Rhodes continued to grapple.

"You want it? Take it!" Rhodes shouted, the two starting to box before Tony slammed Rhodes into a table.

It was then that he realized the crowd gathered behind the glass leading outside, filming, taking pictures, some looking fearful. He roared at them, sending the group rushing away as Rhodes got up and slammed a sink into him, knocking him into the fireplace. He pulled himself out and lifted his hand, charging up a shot as Rhodes did the same.

"Put your hand down," Rhodes told him.

"You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?"

"We don't have to do this, Tony."

"You want to be the War Machine, take your shot," Tony challenged.

"Put it down!"

"You gonna take a shot?"

"Put it down!" Rhodes shouted.

"No!"

"Drop it, Tony!"

"Take it!"

Neither noticed Jess and Happy standing just outside the room. And just as the two fired off their shots, Jess threw a large disk in between them. The blasts hit the disk, shooting out into the night instead of at the two of them, and they both turned as the woman scowled at them—kitchen mostly destroyed.

"Are you both done?" She snapped, earning at least a somewhat sheepish gesture from Rhodes as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Because if you two hadn't noticed, which I'm _sure_ you haven't, you've destroyed the house! There's a hole in the ceiling, the kitchen is obviously in dire need of a complete reconstruction, and all of this happened because two grown-ass-men can't sit down and talk like adults and instead have to battle it out in metal suits?"

The two were both quiet as she stepped between them and picked up the metal disk, brushing off the scorch mark on the front only to frown down at the star and red, white and blue coloration.

"You know what? I don't even want to know," she muttered, before swinging the shield around and pointing it at Tony. "You, downstairs, _now_."

He hesitated for only a second before slumping off and Jess whipped around to Rhodes.

"Get out."

"Jess, I—"

"Go. And I hope you can see at least a little bit of why we don't want people to have these suits. Because all this shows me, is that you definitely don't deserve it after this childish display."

"Then, neither does he."

The chilliness in Jess's gaze made him swallow thickly as she snapped back at him. "He's _dying_. And I hate to break it to you, but all this?" She threw her arms out. "It's a damn cry for help. You're supposed to be his best friend, Rhodey, and even I can see this for what it is. It's him giving up. It's him throwing his life away by jumping into the driver's seat of a racecar, by getting drunk at his birthday party and acting out because he's convinced it's going to be his last one. So, tell me. If you were on your deathbed, are you telling me you wouldn't do whatever the hell you wanted? Even if it meant looking like an idiot, ruining your reputation, and distancing yourself from your friends?"

"I didn't—"

"You didn't _think_," she snarled, prodding him in the chest. "He's trying to protect himself by being an ass, and you fell for it hook, line and sinker. Now, get the hell out before I pry you from that suit and beat you upside the head with it for being an inconsiderate dick."

He was quick to take off, and the moment he did, Jess let out a long sigh and dragged a hand down her face. A whistle rang out and her glare shifted to Happy who held his hands up.

"Right. I'll just, uh… go."

He rushed off and Jess slowly made her way downstairs to the lab, where Tony was getting his suit removed. He refused to look at her and stepped down off the platform, about ready to brush by her, if she hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Tony. This needs to stop."

He jerked his arm away bitterly. "Stop? Stop what, Jess? I'm _dying_ and nothing's going to stop that. Trust me, I've looked."

"And you need to take a step back and get a fresher start," she pressed. "Self-imploding like this is only going to make things worse, and when you live—because you _will_ live—you'll really regret pushing everyone away like this."

"What do you know! You think you can help me, but you can't! Nobody can! So, just leave me alone, Jess!"

"No, I won't!" She shouted in return. "Because unlike Rhodes, unlike Pepper, unlike every damn idiot who believed every word you said, I'm staying to help you, whether you want me to or not! Because I love you!"

The lab suddenly felt too quiet with those words; words neither had admitted to each other even in the six months of their relationship. Jess flushed a bit, squeezing his arm slightly.

"Just… Just don't give up thinking that nobody will care, because I do. I want to help you, any way I can. So, just… just tell me how."

"I don't know how," he muttered. "I haven't found any element that would—"

"Not just that," Jess cut him off. "I want to help _you_. In any way I can. You want to do your bucket list, or just go out with a bang, then tell me how I can help you achieve that. What do you want right now?"

"Right now?" He asked, raising a brow.

Jess rolled her eyes. "No, a week from now. _Yes_, right now."

He shot her a look. "You know, you're always so full of sarcasm. Don't know how anyone believes what you say in court. Who did you get that from?"

"My mother," Jess cracked a smile. "Where'd you get that shield from?"

"It's a, uh… favor for someone. A commission."

"Right. Something you're going to tell me about?"

"Well, it's not happening right now. Probably not for a while, actually, so no."

"Right. So, it has nothing to do with that file called, 'The Avenger's Initiative' that I found tucked away under some magazines in your office desk the other day?"

He winced. "Remind me to hide things better."

"Yeah, no. Not if they're going to be hidden from me. Besides, Jarvis would give up anything if I ask him politely enough."

He wrinkled his nose in a frown, lightly placing his hands on her waist. "I hate when you two team up against me."

Jess just smiled, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, her head lying on his shoulder. "So? What does Iron Man want today?"

"Hm, how about doughnuts? I'm thinking powdered sugar, maybe chocolate sprinkles. Buttermilk for the lady."

Jess snorted, lightly smacking his back before pulling away. "Well, then I guess we're getting doughnuts. Should I get Happy to bring the car around?"

"No need." He smirked then, gesturing back to his suit. "Would you like a lift?"

"Depends. Are you drunk enough to get a DUI if it were a car?"

"Not even close."

"Something tells me that's a lie, but… all right. I'll trust you on this one."

He grinned. "Excellent."

* * *

Flying was the opposite of fun. It was terrifying, to be honest, even with Tony's arms wrapped securely around me to prevent my inevitable death if I fell. And I couldn't feel anything but an insane amount of fear for a while until he spoke—probably sensing I wasn't screaming with joy.

"Look to your right."

I did, my breath catching in surprise instead of terror. The sun was rising up over the top of the mountains and it lit up the city beautifully, finally breaking past the unease that had settled in me at being in the air. Now that I'd calmed down, Tony settled the both of us in front of a doughnut shop and I stepped out of his arms with a shaky wobble; him grabbing my elbow to keep me upright.

"You okay?"

"We just flew," I muttered, turning and looking at him with wide eyes. "That's fucking terrifying."

His helmet sank into his suit, revealing a confused expression. "That's… not what I expected to hear."

"I mean, the sunrise was great, but Christ." I bought a hand to my chest. "I-I think I'll stick to planes. They at least _feel_ safer."

He chuckled, nodding to the shop. "Are you ordering or me?"

"God, no. I will. Just think of the ruckus you'd cause by stepping in there. You want a quiet breakfast, you stay out here. It's on me."

"Order a dozen. No, _two_ dozen. Powdered sugar, chocolate sprinkles, those weird apple fritter things and like, ten jelly-filled."

I raised a brow. "You know, you might pay me well, but I think two dozen doughnuts is a bit much. And unlike a plane, we're not taking a box back with us. I'd probably crush it or drop it the moment we took off again."

A chill went down my spine at the reminder that we were going to have to fly back home, but I pushed it aside as I stepped into the shop and ordered half a dozen doughnuts. When I stepped back outside though, I looked around in confusion.

"Tony? Tony, where—Ah!"

I nearly dropped the doughnuts as I was lifted by the back of my shirt and flown up to the doughnut hole of the giant sign on the shop; getting dropped into Tony's lap as he chuckled at my expression.

"Don't laugh at me, you dick!" I complained, smacking his chest in annoyance as I tried to calm my heart. "I _will_ die of a heart attack because of you. That's a given at this point, I hope you understand that."

He took the box of doughnuts from me and pulled one out as his arm wrapped around my waist to keep me secure at our height. "Well, then we won't be apart for long, right?"

A somber mood fell over us and I sighed, leaning back against him with a minor wince.

"You need some outer cushioning or something. It's hard to lay on you when you're all angular metal and sassy depression."

"Now you know how I feel, seeing as you're all skin and bones and stubbornness."

I shot him a look, taking a doughnut for myself. "I've never been able to gain weight, you know. Between the child neglect and ridiculous amounts of study time to get to where I am now, food was never a big thing for me."

"Is it now?"

"Well, it kind of has to be, because if I don't feed you, then we'd both be starving."

He hummed, reaching out and using a finger to push a sprinkle off the corner of my mouth. "Well, then I suppose I should thank you, for keeping me from being an utter mess."

"You better," I quipped, glad to be drawing the conversation away from his condition. "Say, you should come up with a way to take on and off the suit without all the…" I waved my arms. "Robot bits. The suitcase was a good thought, but a bit obvious and dangerous if someone stole it."

"I'll get right on that. Maybe an instant recall system? Make it come to me wherever I'm at?"

"How would you get it to know though?"

"A motion trigger? Place a chip just under my skin and when it registers a certain movement or gesture, it initiates a recall to summon the suit?"

"Sounds fun. Just means you need to install a flight plan for every piece you call to you. Put Jarvis in charge?"

He nodded. "Put Jarvis in charge."

"Sir!" Someone called out then, making me jolt and nearly drop the last of doughnuts if Tony hadn't caught them. "I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut."

Tony blinked down at him, pushing away the sunglasses I'd snuck him to help with the oncoming hangover as the man with the eyepatch stepped into the shop.

"Friend of yours?"

"Not really," he grumbled. "He's the one who offered the Avengers Initiative thing. Nick Fury."

"Really?" I questioned as Tony helped me get down. "Seems a little more James Bond villainy type than gatherer of superheroes."

"Feel free to tell him that." Tony grinned then. "Actually, do. Do tell him that. You two seem like you'd get along."

"And by 'get along' you really mean we'd butt heads," I concluded.

"Oh, absolutely."

"Great," I sighed, following him into the shop and heading for the front. "Coffee?"

"Please."

"Just grab it yourself," Fury said, catching sight of me. "Shop's empty for security reasons."

_Oh, he's one of __**those**__ people,_ I mused, rolling my eyes and grabbing the coffee for the three of us as Tony started off the conversation.

"I told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy band."

Fury chuckled. "No, no, no. See, I remember. You do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?"

I handed the coffee over to everyone and plopped down beside Tony, catching Fury's gaze as I drank my own coffee, eyeing him.

"Or, well, that's what you told me, anyway. Seems you've managed to keep hold of some help."

"Don't call me his help," I grumbled but offered my hand politely. "Jess Norris."

He managed a smile as he reached over the table to shake it. "I know."

I cracked a sickly-sweet smile in return. "By the way, your Avengers Initiative? Shit plan."

"Excuse me?" He questioned as Tony snorted, unable to help but chuckle quietly as I let Fury's hand go and pulled out another doughnut from the box on the table.

"It is. Believing that you can somehow gather super-powered individuals, expect them to get along, fight for you—because it _will_ ultimately be for you—and somehow this will not only appease the rest of the world but will make it easy to clean up after them?" I scoffed. "You'd be better off buying twenty dogs at the same time and locking them in a room to see which digs its way out and which starts attacking all the others."

"And what would you know about handling any of that?" He countered, making me raise a brow.

"I'm handling _him_, aren't I?" I challenged, nodding to Tony. "I can imagine twenty other Iron Mans trying to get along. Hell, I can imagine other _people_ trying to get along with him. There's going to be conflicts in personality. And conflicts lead to actions, which lead to disaster if it's not controlled properly. And some eye-patch wearing, scary guy isn't going to be enough to just say the word and stop them. No offense."

"Offense taken." He scowled, making me shrug.

"That's all right. I'm a lawyer. I'm used to people not liking me, so join the queue."

Fury's gaze shifted to Tony's amused ones. "You've sure caught yourself some woman."

Tony scoffed. "Please. _She_ caught _me_. And, I'm sorry. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye?" He joked, lowering his sunglasses again. "Honestly, I'm a bit hungover. I'm not sure if you're real or if I'm having—"

Fury leaned over. "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet, sans your lady friend over there."

"Just my luck. Where's the staff here?" He asked, looking to the side and Fury caught sight of something, lightly tugging at the edge of Tony's suit to see something on his neck.

"That's not looking so good."

"I've been worse," Tony said, giving me a look as I eyed the marks crawling up his neck in concern.

_We're running out of time. I've got to figure something out. I've got to help him and not be so damn useless, especially now._ Someone approached the table then and I blinked in surprise at Natalie decked out in a skin-tight suit.

"We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Beside me, Tony nearly dropped his coffee cup in shock.

"Huh. You're fired."

"That's not up to you," she replied, settling herself beside Fury, giving me a nod of acknowledgment. "Jess."

"N-Natalie," I greeted, still shell-shocked as Fury smirked at us both.

"Tony, Miss Norris. I want you to meet Agent Natasha Romanoff."

"Hi," Tony greeted, with a hint of frustration as he rubbed at his face.

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

Some dots in my mind connected.

"Hold on. S.H.I.E.L.D.? As in that ridiculously long supposed business that Agent Coulson made up?"

Fury gave me a glance. "Yes, he told me about you. You gave him quite the trouble when we sent him in for reconnaissance."

"Well, who would believe in a company with that long of a name?" I argued. "It was obviously a fake and he hardly looked like anything other than a government employee, making both of us not really keen on getting to know him."

"Yes, I do believe he reported back that Tony had sicked his guard dog on him. An apt description, now that I've met you."

"Oh, believe me. I've been called worse. Though, this explains my questions regarding your resume, Natasha. Nobody has time to get that much knowledge crammed into them while working a nine-to-five. Trust me, I've tried."

Natasha cracked a small smile. "Your form could use some work."

I groaned, remembering how she beat me when we first met. "Yeah, well, it'd been a while and I was pissed. More coffee?"

Tony passed me his cup and I took my own to get a refill, keeping an ear out as they continued discussing things.

"You've been very busy," Fury mused. "You made your secretary your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I didn't know better—"

"You don't know better," Tony stopped him. "I didn't give it to him. He took it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What, no? He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit? Is that possible?"

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage," Natasha answered, as I spoke up from behind the counter.

"I let him take it."

"Oh, what? Now, the girlfriend has the power to hand out your suits?"

I resisted the urge to rise to his bait. "They want to cause problems, then they can deal with the mess it makes. They won't be able to accurately recreate the suit without Tony's cooperation. And giving it to Rhodes means he'll have his eyes opened to what the military wants to do with it. Knowing him, he'll ensure he's the only one in the manned suit. This will at least keep the senator and the military from bursting into our home for a little while until we can figure out how to handle things."

"Ballsy move, Norris," Fury chirped, and I could feel his eyes on my back. "What makes you think that's going to work?"

"I _told_ you. I'm just buying time. We're trying to focus on too many things at once, so I put a few to the side for the moment. What do you want from us?"

"What do we want from you?" He questioned. "Nuh, uh, uh. What do _you_ want from me? You, Tony, have become a problem. A problem _I_ have to deal with."

"Join the party," I grumbled, reaching over and grabbing yet another doughnut, plopping it in my mouth as Fury continued.

"Contrary to your belief, you are _not_ the center of my universe."

"Yeah, I get it."

"I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with."

"Nobody told you to deal with him," I countered, hearing Tony's frustration and noticing that Natasha had walked over to him.

"Hit him," Fury ordered, and Tony jerked when Natasha injected something into him.

"Oh, God. Are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds?" Tony complained as I hurried over to where Natasha was looking at his neck.

To my surprise, whatever they'd given him made the marks disappear, though I still frowned.

"What was that?"

"That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

"Give me a couple of boxes of that. I'll be right as rain."

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms," Natasha informed us, handing me a small box. "One more dose. Give it to him in twelve hours."

I took it deftly. "Right… Hold on. I'm a bit confused here. He's causing you trouble, and you want him to _continue_ causing said trouble?"

"He causes more trouble acting out like this than he does as a functioning human being," Fury corrected. "Though it doesn't look like that's going to be an easy fix."

"Trust me, I know," Tony grumbled. "I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium. I have tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

Something about that rang bells in my mind, making me frown. _Something… There's something that he said… What? Combination? Element?_

"Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all, and it looks like your girlfriend might be useful after all. You have an idea, Norris?"

"Something he said," I muttered, drumming my fingers on my coffee cup. "Say it again."

"What?" Tony questioned, but Natasha quoted him.

"'I have tried every combination, every permutation of every known element.'"

I snapped my fingers. "There. The end bit. Every _known_ element. Have you tried making one?"

Tony blinked. "A new element?"

I shrugged. "Why not? If you've tried all the ones we know, then there's nothing left but to try the ones we don't know. Right? I'm… not a chemist, so I don't know how difficult that would be, but—"

Tony suddenly stood up and pressed his lips to mine, startling me as he pulled away, holding my arms as I blinked dazedly up at him in shock. "You're brilliant."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Absolutely." He looked to Fury. "Any ideas of where to start?"

Fury smirked. "Where it all started." He got up and nodded. "Come on. Let's bring you two home and get you out of that suit. We can talk there."

"No flying?" I questioned cautiously, though still a bit stunned by the sudden kiss.

"No. I've got a car, though you're welcome to fly back with him."

I shook my head. "Yeah, no. I think I've had enough unsecured flying for one lifetime."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Tony huffed as we headed out. "What if you were in a suit? Would that help?"

"Maybe," I muttered, though not entirely thrilled by the idea, but he grinned.

"I'll add you to the authorization codes then."

"_Tony!_"

* * *

"That thing in your chest is based on unfinished technology," Fury explained to Tony as they sat in what was left of the destroyed kitchen at his home.

"No, it was finished," Tony argued. "It has never been particularly effective until I miniaturized it and put it in my…" He gestured to his chest, but Fury shook his head as Jess wandered in with a sigh, nursing a scotch despite the early hour.

She'd been dealing with back pain ever since they'd flown around, and instead of taking the pain medication she was prescribed, she claimed it wasn't that bad and just needed a drink. Tony didn't bother arguing with her, knowing better than to try, especially when she had spent the evening and most of the day dealing with his little temper tantrum.

"No. Howard said the arc reactor was the stepping stone to something greater. He was about to kick off an energy race that was going to dwarf the arms race."

"So, a superpowered battery?" Jess commented, making Fury shoot her a look.

"You are _far_ more intelligent than I thought, Miss Norris."

She snorted. "Please. I hardly know anything compared to Mr. Know-It-All over there. I'm just good at connecting the dots. And call me Jess. Miss Norris makes me want to call you Nickolas just to spit you."

"He was onto something big," Fury continued, nodding to Jess. "Something so big that, as Jess said, it was gonna make the nuclear reactor look like a triple-A battery."

"Just him? Or was Anton Vanko in on this too?" Tony asked, pouring himself something as Jess grunted, getting up.

"That reminds me. I need to check up on that guy," she muttered, looking around for her laptop.

"Anton Vanko is the other side of that coin," Fury explained, watching Jess go out of the corner of his eye. "Anton saw it as a way to get rich. When your father found out, he had him deported. When the Russians found out he couldn't deliver, they shipped his ass off to Siberia and he spent the next twenty years in a vodka-fueled rage. Not quite the environment you want to raise a kid in; the son you had the misfortune of crossing paths with in Monaco."

Jess returned, wearing glasses and holding her laptop in one hand, her drink in the other as she sat in a chair next to Tony. "Speaking of, says here there was an explosion at the prison he was in. I don't like that. Couldn't identify the body due to the disfiguration of the face but the number on the uniform was the same? What is this? Some cliché movie bit?" She looked at Fury. "Can we look into this? I don't like the fact that the only other person with the capabilities of making a suit might or might not be dead."

He nodded. "I'll get someone on it, though don't expect immediate results."

She scoffed. "From a government organization? Never."

Fury rolled his eyes as Tony tried to bring the conversation back around.

"So, Jess mentioned making a new element. You think my father had something on that?"

Fury shrugged. "Don't know about the new element thing, but he said that you were the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started."

"He said that?" Tony questioned, not sounding convinced.

"Are you that guy? Hm? Are you?" Fury challenged, making Jess look between the two of them cautiously. "'Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart."

Jess couldn't help but snort at that line, earning a small glare from Fury as Tony shook his head.

"I don't know where you're getting your information but, uh, he wasn't my biggest fan."

"What do you remember about your dad?" Fury questioned, making Jess frowned as she thought about her own father and rubbed at her arm as a phantom ache appeared at the thought.

"He was cold. He was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me. So, it's a little tough for me to digest when you're telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he's passing it down. I don't _get_ that. You're talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school."

"That's not true."

"Well, then clearly you knew my dad better than I did."

"Could have been worse," Fury shrugged. "Could have had Jess's father. How often did _he_ say he cared for you, Jess?"

"Don't drag me into this," Jess grumbled, but Fury waved her off.

"Come on. Enlighten us."

"He didn't. Not even when my mother was around, happy?" She grumbled. "What do you want me to say? That maybe Howard just had a hard time expressing himself and pushed Tony because he wanted him to be the best? This isn't a soap opera. It's not my job to try and justify a neglectful parent, especially when my own parent was a piece of shit."

Two men brought in a large silver case then, drawing Jess's angry gaze away from Fury as he spoke.

"Howard was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D., so I did know him more than you think."

Even Tony was shocked. "What?"

Fury checked his watch, getting up to leave. "I've got a two o'clock."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Tony tried to stop him, getting up as well. "What's this?"

"Okay, you're good, right?" Fury ignored him.

"No, I'm not good."

"You, you, you got this, right? Right?"

"Got what? I don't even know what I'm supposed to get."

Again, he was ignored as Jess got up to look over the box.

"Natasha will remain a floater at Stark with her cover intact. And you remember Agent Coulson, right?"

"Oh, joy," Jess grumbled.

"Oh, and Tony? Remember, I got my eye on you."

Jess raised a brow. "That is the lamest joke I've heard from a half-blind guy."

"Right back at you, Jess."

She scowled at the quip as he walked off and Natasha explained what was going on.

"We've disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world. Good luck."

"Hold on," Jess stopped her. "Me too?"

Natasha quirked her lip in a sort of half-smile. "Director Fury seems to think you'll be helpful to him. You're as in on this as he is, Jess."

"Oh, come on! I wasn't even offered a job in his little superhero pact!" She complained to the agent's retreating back, before huffing. "How are we supposed to get food if we have no contact with the rest of the world?"

Her gaze shifted to Coulson, who shook his head with a grin.

"I'm not here for that."

"What good are you then?" Jess huffed. "Am _I_ allowed to leave for that?"

"No, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am." She scowled. "We've gone over this."

Coulson didn't seem to care, too pleased with the payback he was getting. "I've been authorized by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on-premises. If either of you attempts to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet, okay?"

Jess didn't even blink. "The fact that your go-to show is Supernanny says a lot about your character. Can you _be_ any more of a wuss?"

Coulson's brow twitched, but he didn't rise to the bait. "Enjoy your evening's entertainment."

As he walked off, Tony gave Jess a look as she ran a hand through her hair.

"He really meant it when he said you two don't get along, didn't he? What did you do last time?"

"Ran through a list of threats and things I could get away with because I can be my own lawyer in any lawsuit case he'd attempt to file against me if he didn't piss off." She shot Tony a look. "I _really_ hate government people."

"I can see that. So, shall we?" He questioned, nodding to the box that had been left behind for them and Jess sighed.

"Not like we have a choice."


	7. Chapter 7

"Everything_ is achievable through technology_," Howard said on the projector as I pinched the bridge of my nose under my reading glasses after focusing so long on the blueprints Tony had tossed aside. "_Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace_."

Tony was skimming the man's scientific journal as the video played and a child-version of Tony stole a part of the model behind Howard.

"_Tony, what are you doing back there? What is that? Put that back. Put it back where you got it from_," he demanded as the boy placed the building back. "_Where's your mother? Maria!_"

A coworker picked Tony up and moved him out of sight as a small, sad frown made its way onto my face. Tony himself had stopped reading to eye the screen, turning his gaze back to the notes with a hint of pain on his face that made me worry. I didn't want to pry. He'd given me space in regards to my own father, so I wanted to do the same for him. However, I didn't want him dwelling on how neglectful his father was. Before I could say anything though, something surprising happened as Tony finished the notes and sipped at his Scotch.

"_Tony? You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you,_" Howard said, speaking to Tony directly and drawing both our attentions to the screen. "_I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work._"

The video scanned over the model of Howard's plan for the expo.

"_This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day, you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation… is you._"

I slowly got up, approaching Tony with a hint of caution as he finished his drink in one final gulp. I didn't say anything—not really knowing what I _could_ say after that—and instead tried to draw his attention towards something slightly less painful.

"Fury said this stuff could help us," I spoke softly, looking for a sign that he was listening or that I was interrupting whatever he was dealing with internally. "The blueprint is incomplete. I'm assuming your skimming was the same, but… I'm sure you noticed in the film… He brought up an image of the arc reactor while showing off his model. Could they be connected somehow?"

Tony leaned back in his seat, looking up at me with an expression that was hard to read. "Shall we go find out?"

I blinked, surprised as he bolted up suddenly and pulled a set of keys from his desk, unlocking a nearby car. "W-What? But Tony, we're not supposed to leave and—"

"What are they going to do, ground us? Besides, you never seemed like someone who wants to follow rules." He smirked at me, nodding to the car. "Come on. Quick trip to the offices. They wanted us to figure this out, so best get to it."

I sighed, giving in. "Fine, but Pepper isn't going to be happy."

He shrugged, hopping over the door of the convertible and landing in the driver's seat. "We'll figure something out."

_I hope so. Getting tased doesn't exactly sound enjoyable. _Tony stopped by a man selling strawberries and I raised a brow.

"You _do_ know Pepper's allergic to strawberries, right?"

"Is she?" He questioned, giving the stunned man his expensive watch as I was passed the box of strawberries. "Huh. Well, that's fine. You can have them."

I sighed as he drove on and we rushed up to Pepper's office where a receptionist tried to get us to leave, but Tony adamantly barged his way in with me behind him apologizing to the woman. Immediately, Pepper shot me a look and I winced, mouthing "Sorry" back at her for Tony's interruption. Pepper rolled her eyes, holding up a finger to silence Tony while she finished her phone call.

"Listen, it's our position that Stark has and continues to maintain proprietary ownership of the Mark II platform."

A TV nearby played a television host criticizing both Tony and Pepper, making me scowl. Tony thankfully muted it before roaming the office while Pepper argued on the phone.

"Burt, Burt. Burt, listen to me. Don't tell me that we have the best patent lawyers in the country and then not let me pursue this."

"I'll get this stuff out of here," Tony cut in, getting ignored as he looked through his old office things.

I shot him a pointed look, telling him to shut up while she was in the middle of her conversation. He simply held up the strawberry box he'd brought in innocently.

"Well then, tell the president to sign an order," Pepper continued. "We'll talk about it at the Expo. Hammer's giving some presentation tomorrow evening. Will Tony Stark be there?"

"Will I?" Tony questioned, perking up.

Pepper gave him a look. "No, he will not. Bye."

"I would like to be," Tony interjected, but she hung up as he took a seat. "Got a minute?"

"No."

"Come on. You just got off the phone. You're fine. Thirty seconds."

Pepper looked to me and I sighed.

"Just… let him try, at least."

She sighed, looking at her watch. "Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…"

Tony was quick to speak. "Okay, I, um… I was just driving over here, and I thought I was coming to basically apologize, but I'm not."

I let out a heavy sigh this time, tipping my head back and closing my eyes in exasperation.

"Oh, you didn't come here to apologize?" Pepper questioned accusingly.

"Look, that goes without saying, and I'm working on that. But I haven't been entirely upfront with you, and I just want to try and make good. Can I move this?" He asked then, bothered by the rotating paperweight in front of him. "This is, this is crazy. It's like a Ferris Wheel. I'm trying to get some—"

"No," Pepper denied, so he rolled his chair to the right, bumping into mine and lightly scooting me over out of the way, much to my annoyance.

"Do you know how short life is?" He asked then. "And if I never got to express… By the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care—I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to, to…" He started again at Pepper's annoyed look. "Look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it."

"Let me stop you right here, okay?" Pepper cut him off. "Because if you say 'I' one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think."

"I mean, I—"

"I am trying to run a company," she said louder, trying to get the point across. "Do you have any idea what that entails?"

"Yes."

"People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you've disappeared. And all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat for it. And without Jess's help, I probably would have left this whole company ages ago."

The paperweight Tony was playing with to occupy his hands flicked across the table and she grabbed it before it could roll to the floor.

"I am trying to do the job that you were meant to do with as little help from Jess as possible because she's attempting to leave, in order to cater to you." She spotted the box on the desk then. "Did you bring me strawberries? Did you know that there's only one thing on Earth that I'm allergic to?"

"Allergic to strawberries," he reminded himself, pushing the box towards me. "Which is why I got them for Jess."

Pepper raised a brow as I stealthily mouthed "No, he didn't" to her. She dropped the paperweight onto the desk, cutting through the silence as Tony scrambled to fix things.

"This is progress, Pepper. I knew there was a correlation between you and this."

"I need you—"

"I need you too. That's why I'm trying to-" he cut her off before she finished.

"—to leave now."

He paused, looking unsure if he heard that right, turning to me for confirmation as I shot him a raised brow. The door clicked open then and Natasha walked through. _Still can't believe she's a spy. Must be a damn good one too, to fit in so well._

"Miss Potts?"

"Hi, come in," Pepper invited.

"Wheels up in twenty-five minutes."

"Thank you."

"Anything else, boss?" Happy—who'd followed her in—questioned.

"I'm good, Hap," Tony said, the same time Pepper replied.

"No, I'll be just… another minute."

"I lost both the kids in the divorce," Tony quipped.

Seeing a possible rising conflict, I cleared my throat as Pepper signed a paper.

"I'll uh, see if I can work something out with the stolen Mark II."

"You really don't have to," Pepper countered, being civil with me since her only issue was with Tony.

"No, I should, since I'm kind of the one who just told Rhodes to take it," I muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm sure I can figure out a loophole or something in the fine print of Stark Industries labeling it as our property unless the CEO relinquishes rights. It'll just, uh… take some time, probably."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Jess. That would really help."

"Are you blending in well here, Natalie?" Tony questioned then, making me roll my eyes, wondering what Fury thought when he revealed her as a spy to the two of us. "Here at Stark Enterprises? Your name _is_ Natalie, isn't it? I thought you two didn't get along?"

The two women shot him a look.

"No, that's not so," Pepper replied.

"It's just _me_ you don't care for," he understood then. "And well, Jess who doesn't care for Natalie."

I lightly smacked his arm, trying to keep him from lighting fires as Pepper got up.

"Actually, while you're here, maybe you two and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings."

"Absolutely," Natasha quickly agreed, moving to straighten the desk as Pepper stepped out.

And the second she did, Natasha complained.

"I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut."

"Boy, you're good," Tony complimented as I sighed. "You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it? You just tear things—You're a triple imposter. I've never seen anything like you. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?"

"Fallaces sunt rerum species," she said, making for the door.

"Which means? Wait, what? What did you just say?"

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected," she snapped as she stormed out.

"You're good!" Tony called out at her retreating back as I got up with another deep sigh and moved to his office boxes.

He proceeded to adamantly shove things in the way of the rotating contraption on Pepper's desk unsuccessfully as I responded.

"She said something about appearances being deceiving if you must know."

He whipped around, surprised. "You know Latin?"

"I'm a lawyer. A good chunk of what's put in laws is in Latin, though I haven't actively studied it for years. I can pick up a few words, enough to get a general understanding."

"Hm," he hummed, plopping a strawberry in his mouth. "You want any of these?"

"Sure. We can take them home and eat them since we're technically under quarantine., but doesn't this look a bit off to you?"

"What?" He asked, getting up with the box of fruit and moving to where I was looking at the large table-sized model. "This? It's just a model of the Expo."

"Yeah, but I've never really gotten a birds-eye view of it before. The way it's set up is… systematic, almost." I pulled the rest of the sheet off it, tracing a finger around the globe in the center of it. "Puts the globe as the centerpiece instead of the stage where everything's happening. I may not know your father, but if he's anything like you, then why not put the stage at the center of attention? And—" I paused, seeing Tony's surprised look as he glanced over the model. "Tony?"

"Help me take it apart."

* * *

If Tony was glad about one thing, it was that Jess was always quick to just do as he asked before asking questions. Though confused as to why he suddenly needed the model of the Expo, she adamantly helped him break it down and stuff it in his convertible before rebuilding it back in his garage. She had been right though. There _was_ something off about the construction of the Expo and he could almost see it. He just needed a bit of help.

"Jarvis, could you kindly Vac-U-Form a digital wireframe?" He asked. "I need a manipulatable projection."

Jarvis did as he asked as Jess came up beside him, her short hair dripping after having taken a quick shower from being covered in dust while dealing with the old model.

"So? You've got an idea, right?"

"Sure do, thanks to you," he hummed, pleased as he dropped a towel over her head. "You're dripping on the model."

She rolled her eyes, not entirely annoyed by the action as she began to dry off and Jarvis chimed in.

"_1974 Stark Expo model scan complete, sir_."

A hologram of the model appeared and the two of them eyed it critically once Tony moved it to a more open space.

"How many buildings are there?" Tony questioned.

"_Am I to include the Belgium waffle stands?_" Jarvis quipped.

"That was rhetorical. Just show me." With a snap of his fingers, the model spun and shifted vertically. "Uh, huh. Um, what does that look like to you, Jess? Not unlike an atom. In which case, the nucleus would be here, as you said. Jarvis, highlight the Unisphere... Lose the footpaths. Get rid of them."

"_What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?_"

"I'm discovering. Uh, correction. Rediscovering a new element, I believe."

"Get rid of the plants," Jess offered as well. "Same with parking lots, entrances and exits. We want just the buildings."

"Structure the protons and neutrons use the pavilions as a framework," he added waving them off and zooming in on what was left of the model before exploding the resulting atom outward. "Dead for almost twenty years, and still taking me to school."

Jess smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But that's what parents do, isn't it? I know my mom still schools me."

He chuckled, clapping his hands and making the hologram miniaturize into a small orb between his fingers as Jarvis piped in.

"_The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium._"

"Thanks, dad," Tony muttered, showing Jess the small orb as Jarvis went on.

"_Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize._"

"Uh-huh." Tony smiled, getting up from his seat and kissing Jess's cheek, making her wrinkle her nose. "Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode. Jess, wanna help?"

"Give me a hammer." Jess beamed, and they went to work.

* * *

Tony and I pounded away at walls and flooring, moving heavy machinery and working away tirelessly to get what we needed to synthesize the new element ready. It wasn't entirely my area of expertise, but Tony was showing me the ropes and enough of it began to make sense when accompanied to what I already knew about planes and engineering. Though he was probably just trying to keep me from doing the heavy lifting thanks to my still-sore back. Being quick to pick up his trade made Tony happy, however, as he was soon smiling away while we worked to set things up. _It's the happiest I've seen him in a while. Though, I suppose he did just find out he won't be dying anytime soon._ It was then, that we were interrupted.

"I heard you broke the perimeter," Coulson said, stepping into the basement with us.

"Uh, yeah. That was like, three years ago. Where you been?" Tony scoffed.

"I was doing some stuff."

"Yeah, well, us too and it worked. Hey, I'm playing for the home team, Coulson," Tony emphasized at the man's disbelieving look. "You and all your fabulous furry freak brothers. Now, are you gonna let us work or break my balls?"

"What's this doing here?" Coulson asked, picking up the very same shield I'd used to stop Tony and Rhodey fighting the other evening; though it was a little more taken apart than it had been initially.

"He said it's a commission," I hummed, lounging back in a chair with a cold cloth over my eyes.

I'd helped Tony with some of the pipes and my back was killing me, so he made me rest.

"That's it," Tony said pleasantly, making me lift the cloth with a curious look. "Bring that to me."

"You know what this is?" Coulson questioned.

"It's exactly what I need to make this work. Lift the coil."

Coulson did as he asked.

"Go, go. Put your knees into it. There you go. And…" Tony slid the shield under the coil. "Drop it. Drop it."

Coulson put the coil down and Tony placed the level on it, smiling as I snorted in amusement at his antics.

"Perfectly level," he hummed, giving Coulson a look. "I'm busy. What do you want?"

"Nothing. Goodbye. I've been reassigned."

"Thank God," I huffed, getting a glare for my response.

"Director Fury wants me in New Mexico."

"Fantastic. Land of Enchantment," Tony mused, not really caring.

"So I'm told."

"Secret stuff."

"Something like that."

"Hm."

"Good luck."

"Bye. Thanks."

The two shook hands.

"We need you."

"Yeah, more than you know," Tony teased.

"Not that much."

"Pleasant guy," I snickered once he left, removing the cloth and standing with a stretch.

"Catch."

I caught the wrench he tossed me with a smile. "Back to work?"

"Yup. Don't overextend yourself."

"I know my limits."

It was well into the night that we finally seemed to have finished setting up everything and Tony turned the key to get things started.

"_Initializing prismatic accelerator,_" Jarvis announced as Tony removed his outer shirt and began to try and turn the prism and angle the power towards what he needed. "_Approaching maximum power._"

He was struggling though, nodding for me to come over and help. Between the two of us and a wrench, we were able to slowly get it turning—burning a nice line through the wall in the process. Tony then shut it down, moving over to check our progress and giving me a brief look.

"That was easy."

"You don't say," I huffed, draping myself over the top of one of the coils as he went to remove the triangular piece.

"_Congratulations, sir, miss,_" Jarvis chimed. "_You have created a new element._"

I ducked under the coil and headed over as well, watching as he placed the core into his new reactor and it started up.

"_Sir, the reactor has accepted the modified core. I will begin running diagnostics. Might I suggest resting? Perhaps having a night out? Scans indicate that Miss Jess might be experiencing low blood sugar and iron levels._"

Tony turned, raising a brow as I rolled my eyes.

"Selling me out, eh, Jarvis?" I glanced at Tony. "I _might_ be a bit hungry and tired."

"Well, we've got time," he smiled, reaching out a hand to me that I accepted as he stood. "Do you want to go out to eat or have a night in?"

"Night in. Not in the mood to deal with people, despite us having been inside the last few days anyway."

"Night in it is. I'll order us some take-out. You pick the movie?"

"So long as you pour the drinks."

"I can do that." He gave me a quick kiss. "And more, if you'd like."

"I'll think about it," I hummed, figuring that it was probably about time that we moved forward a little in our relationship.

"Don't leave me hanging," he purred, running a hand along my jawline before I prodded him in the gut, making him wince.

"Food first."

"Right. Food first."

* * *

"Dum-E, you, can we clean up this mess? You're killing me," Tony complained, earning an eye roll from Jess.

"Ease up on him, will you?" She huffed, passing him a mug of coffee and kissing his jaw as she strolled past to take a seat.

He couldn't help his gaze wandering to her strong calves as she folded her legs over one another in her robe. He was, of course, interrupted by Jarvis chiming in.

"_Incoming call with a blocked number, sir._"

"Our phone privileges are reinstated. Lovely," he mused, having rather liked not being bothered by it while Coulson had them on house arrest. _Probably him anyway. _"Coulson. How's the land of enchantment?"

"_Hey, Tony. How you doin'?_" Came the gruff Russian voice that made Jess bolt upright in her seat.

She whipped around to a laptop nearby too, abandoning her coffee to type rapidly as Tony spoke with Ivan.

"_A double cycle._"

"What?"

"_You told me double cycle's more power. Good advice._"

Jess shot him a look, having told him before how bad of an idea it was to give advice to people if he didn't like them. He rolled his eyes though his gut churned knowing that this guy was alive. _Jess was right to be concerned._

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy."

"_You too,_" Ivan laughed, and Tony turned off his mic.

"Are you tracing him?"

"Working on it," Jess replied, typing away with Jarvis' help. "And also contacting Fury and letting him know he's an idiot for thinking the guy was dead in the first place."

"Good. Any other good ideas, do them."

"Of course. I don't need your permission," she huffed, teasing him with a small smirk.

"_Now, the true history of Stark name will be written._"

"Eastern seaboard," Jess called out, trying to narrow down the search.

"_What your father did to my family over forty years, I will do to you in forty minutes._"

Tony turned back on his mic briefly. "Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out."

"Manhattan tristate area," Jess added as Tony watched the map on screen zooming in further.

"_I hope you're ready._"

The call ended and Jess cursed, slamming her hands on the desk in frustration.

"Damn!"

"_Call trace incomplete,_" Jarvis announced, but Jess wasn't done just yet.

"He's got to be up to something. Something big. He wants to humiliate you, right?"

"Yeah, not helping, Jess."

She scowled. "Shut up and let me think out loud for a minute. You do it all the time anyway."

He nodded, knowing that he did and how surprisingly nice it was that she tolerated it thus far.

"Thing is, he wants the world to know. So, what's the biggest stage he could get?"

Tony perked up. "The Expo."

She snapped her fingers, pointing to him. "Right, but he needs tech to do it. Obviously, someone who hates you. Which means…" She sighed, the dots connecting in her head just as he did.

"Hammer," they both muttered in annoyance.

"So, what do we—Tony!"

Tony had headed over to grab the new chest piece, switching it out as Jess groaned and Jarvis made to argue.

"_Sir._"

"Tony, the tests—"

"You want to run some tests, run them," Tony said. "And assemble the suit while you're at it. Put it together now."

Jess sighed heavily, running a hand through her already tousled hair. "I'll get some clothes."

"_We are unclear as to the effects—_" Jarvis tried, but Tony didn't care.

"I don't want to hear it, Jarvis. Why can't you be like Jess and just roll with it?" He coughed then, grimacing as the chest piece connected with him and began to clear out the radiation the old one cause. "Ugh, that tastes like coconut and metal. Oh, wow, yeah!"

Once the chest piece adjusted, he stumbled back breathing hard as he got used to the change.

"W-Wow."

Cloth covered his head and he pulled aside the pants to Jess as she eyed him with a raised brow.

"You good?"

He grinned, heading over as he pulled the pants off his head. "Oh, I'm better than good." He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and pulling away with a smirk. "You ready? And I love those jeans by the way."

Jess rolled her eyes, lightly smacking his hand away from where it had slipped down to her ass. "Hammer?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Right. Hammer." He begrudgingly let her go as Jarvis chimed in announcing that the suit was ready.

"Do I get a suit this time?"

"Ah, well…" He hesitated, realizing that while he'd promised her a suit, he hadn't quite gotten around to doing it just yet.

Jess groaned. "Really? And how do you expect me to get there and support you? Hm?"

Tony, avoiding eye contact as he changed and went over to get into the Iron Man suit, struggled to come up with an answer. "Um, well… You can always drive?"

"From _LA_ to _New York_?"

He winced. "I'll carry you! It'll be great!"

Jess scowled, folding her arm over her chest. "Absolutely not. Jarvis?"

"_Yes, ma'am. I have already altered the Iron Man Mark 4 suit for your using purposes, as per request._"

Tony gaped. "You went behind my back!"

Jess rolled her eyes, moving forward and kissing his cheek before his helmet came on. "Just a bit."

He couldn't help but smirk though, knowing that she was always one step ahead. "Well, I suppose I could share this one time. I _will_ make you a suit though. A proper one. All yours."

"Maybe _after_ you save the world?" She joked, taking his place as he stepped off fully suited up.

"I'll meet you there?"

"Kick his ass."

* * *

Pepper and Natasha exchanged shocked looks at the drones Hammer was presenting at the Expo, noticing immediately the similarities to the Iron Man suit and feeling dread well up in them.

"As revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to be present in the theater of war," Hammer addressed his audience, surprising them once more by what he announced next. "Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype in the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit and its pilot, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!"

"_What_?" Pepper gaped as one of Tony's old Iron Man suits was brought up onto the stage, decked out with more weapons and armor than a tank.

Rhodes, Hammer and the drone saluted as the leader of the show went on.

"For America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting for—" Hammer stopped though, as a low rumbling noise drew everyone's attention to the lit-up figure heading their way.

Tony had arrived and landed before Rhodes, must to the crowd's enjoyment.

"We got trouble."

Rhodes resisted a sigh. "Tony, there are civilians present. I'm here on orders. Let's not do this right now."

Tony lifted a hand to the crowd. "Give them a wave."

"Hey, all right! Yeah!" Hammer clapped along with them, not pleased Tony was stealing the show, but not willing to risk anything just yet.

Tony draped an arm over Rhodes' shoulder. "All these people are in danger. We gotta get them out of here. You gotta trust me for the next five minutes."

"Yeah, I tried that. I got tossed around your house, remember?"

"_Listen_, I think he's working with Vanko."

"Vanko's alive?" Rhodes wondered, starting to get worried.

"Yeah, and if you're still not ready to trust me, Jess is on her way now."

"In a suit?"

"You bet."

Rhodes could hardly believe it, but already his scanners picked up the second suit off in the distance. "Well, I'll be damned."

Tony, however, moved over to Hammer as the man tried to keep egging up the crowd. "Where is he?"

"What?"

"Where's Vanko?"

"Who?" Hammer tried to play dumb, but Tony wasn't falling for it.

"Tell me."

"What are you doing here, man?"

Then, Rhodes' screen went red. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

His gun snapped up and Tony turned.

"Is that you?"

"No, I'm not doing that. That's not me!" Rhodes said frantically. "I can't move. I'm locked up. I'm locked up!"

All the other drones lifted their weapons as well, just as Jess landed beside Tony.

"What's going on?"

"Vanko's hacked into his suit."

"Get out of here! Go! This whole system's been compromised!" Rhodes demanded as the crowd started to scream and flee.

"Go, Tony!" Jess called out. "They're after you! Keep the fire away from the crowd while I try to get them out!"

"Will do! Let's take it outside!" Tony said, flying up and out of the roof with bullets being shot after him.

Glass rained down on the crowd and Jess took off, her scanners picking up two very familiar people in the crowd. Quickly, she landed beside them, lifting her helmet much to Pepper and Natasha's surprise.

"J-Jess?"

"Yeah, hi. No time to explain. Vanko's alive and has hacked into the suits. We need to lock him out. I know you're both good at hacking. Do you know where there's a computer system you could work with?"

Pepper perks up, nodding. "Backstage! Hammer has his tech crew back there!"

Jess turned and grimaced at the sight of the drones and Rhodes being flown upward. "Can you two get back there? I'm already getting Jarvis on it but having you two working as well would be great."

Pepper and Natasha nodded, determined.

"Yeah. We can do that."

"What are you going to do?"

"Try and keep the crowd safe. I don't trust those drones. They might be going after Tony now, but Vanko's not exactly considerate to those in his way. I'm leaving that and Hammer to you two. And if you can somehow manage the crowd control from there too, that'd be great. They need to be as far from the center of this as possible. Vanko's trying to make a scene. He won't stray far from center stage."

"On it," Natasha said, rushing off already, but Pepper hesitated.

"Be careful, Jess."

Jess smirked. "I'll do my best. Be careful yourself."

Pepper smiled as Jess's helmet slipped back on and she took off, quickly moving to stop the drone who had started walking into the crowds.

"Tony!" She called through their connected systems. "Try to keep the ones after you away from the crowds! I've sent Natasha and Pepper to try and nab Hammer and get Vanto out of your system. I'll deal with the drones down here as best I can."

"Be careful, Jess." He returned. "We don't yet know what they're capable of. I'll send you specs as we go."

"Same here! Though, it looks like they've been given separate abilities depending on which part of the Armed Forces they're for. You've got Air Force on your tail and I've got the Army down here!"

"Ones that fly and ones that don't," he realized, grinning. "Great! Keep track of any more differences!"

"Will do... Oh, this is going to be troublesome," Jess muttered as a drone stepped up to her position. "Hello, big fella. Want to play?"

It aimed its weapon at her and she sighed.

"Yeah, thought so."

* * *

Hammer hurried backstage to where his control crew had been set up, bristling with anger.

"What's going on? What's happening?"

"The software's been overridden," his tech replied.

"What? What do you mean, it's been overridden? What does that mean?"

"I think he slaved the drones."

"That's impossible. Call the guards," Hammer demanded.

"All the phones are down, sir."

"Well then, call their… call their cells."

"Their cell phones are not working either, sir."

"He's locked us out of the mainframe."

"Who's locked you out of the mainframe?" Pepper asked, already knowing the answer as she headed over, but wanting to hear them say it.

"Please, please. Go away. Go away," Hammer stopped her and Natasha. "I've got this handled."

"Have you now?" Pepper snapped.

"Yes, I do. In fact, if your guy hadn't shown up, this wouldn't be happening. So please now, go away. Thank you." He leaned over to complain to the tech guy. "Listen, we've got to get these bitches out of here."

Natasha though wasn't one to tolerate attitude like that and stepped around the desk, jerking him by his arm and slamming his face to the top of it.

"Where is Ivan Vanko?"

"I don't—" Hammer grunted as she jerked him again, soon giving in easily. "He's at my facility."

She let him go and took off, leaving Pepper to dial her phone as she glared at him.

"I need NYPD, please. Command central."

"No, no, no, no. No, no, honey. Don't call the authorities."

Pepper ignored Hammer. "Okay. Right away. Right away." She covered the speaker and snapped at him. "Step aside, step aside."

He held up his hands, begrudgingly doing so and she moved to his tech. "Tell me everything you know. Go."

* * *

Tony, meanwhile, was doing his best to keep the Air Force drones off him while also away from the people scrambling for cover down below.

"How are we doing, Jarvis!" He asked, desperately hoping the AI or Pepper had managed to do something.

"_Remote reboot unsuccessful._"

He grimaced, looking down and spotting Jess launching herself at a Navy drone and pulling off its head before hastily moving to the next one. There were too many though. She was barely making a dent in the numbers and soon the Navy drones were launching missiles, leaving her scrambling to grab people out of the way instead of fighting the drones head-on. The Army drones were on the move now as well, anchoring themselves to the ground and arming their weapons.

"Heads up, Tony!" Jess shouted. "The Army drones are aiming for you with armor-piercing bullets from the ground! I can't get to them in time!"

"On it!" He called back, dodging the bullets and managing to get the drones to hit one of the ones chasing him. "See if you can somehow get them firing on each other!"

"I'll do my best!" She grunted, flinging one of the large pieces of a collapsing building away from the people it had nearly crushed. "Go! Go!"

She took off after the Navy drones then, moving to the nearest one and getting in its face. "Hey! Come and get me, big fella! Try and hit me with those missiles if you think you're so tough!"

The drone shifted before the rest of the Navy drones paused in their attack of the crowd and aimed at her instead.

She groaned. "Oh, I definitely asked for this, didn't I."

She was quick to take off, dodging the missiles as best she could before spotting the anchored Army drones and grimacing as a missile very nearly hit her. _This better work._ The missiles hit the Army drones and took out a number of them, making her cheer before she saw a drone pausing in front of a kid with an Iron Man mask.

"Tony!"

Tony was quick to spot him, landing and taking care of the drone with a nod to the boy. "Nice work, kid."

Relief flooded Jess as Tony shifted to move the drones further away from the Expo, though a pack of Air Force drones started to double back not long after.

"Jess, there are some Air Force drones headed your way."

"Great. Just what I need. Tony, I'm already struggling with numbers here!"

"I'll head back as soon as I can, Jess, just buy us some time!"

Not long after some of the Air Force drones made it back, more drones took off.

"Tony, we've got more incoming! He's sending out all of them!"

"We have to take down the system! How's Pepper doing?"

"I don't know! Bit busy!"

"Well, find out!"

Jess groaned but began to work her way back to the stage while taking out drones as best she could. _I'm __**so**__ going to strangle him later._


	8. Chapter 8

I panted heavily, struggling with the exertion of fighting for so long, even in the suit. _I-I really need to work out more._ I grunted when I was clipped by a missile from one of the Navy drones, shaking my head with a growl.

"Oh, bad move, buddy."

"_Reboot complete. You got your best friend back, Tony,_" Natasha said through our comms and I blasted yet another drone away from someone in the crowd.

"G-Great and all. Mind shutting down the rest of the drones while you're at it? Still having a bit of trouble here!"

"_I'll do what I can. Well done with the new chest piece. I'm reading significantly higher output and your vitals all look promising._"

"_Yes, for the moment I'm not dying_," Tony replied. "_Thank you._"

"Yeah, we can all flirt a little later!" I hissed, as a missile slammed into my side. "I enjoy a little exercise, but I've not done combat training in ages! Could use a little help, if we're all done chit-chatting!"

"_What do you mean, you're not dying? Did you just say you're not dying?_" Pepper interjected, making me groan as I wrestled with a drone only to roll over as its companions fired a shot off, destroying it for me.

"_Is that you, Pepper? Uh, no. I'm not. Not anymore._"

"_W-What's going on?_"

"_I was going to tell you. I didn't want to alarm you._"

"_You were gonna tell me? You really were dying? Jess, you didn't say anything either!_"

"_You didn't let me,_" Tony tried to argue.

"_Why didn't you two tell me that!_"

"_I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you._"

"We couldn't find the right time to say it and now isn't the best time either!" I cut in. "The drones are flying off!"

"_You've got incoming, Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you,_" Natasha explained as I clung to one of the Air Force drones that fought to get rid of me as it flew.

"_Great. Pepper?_" Tony started.

"_Are you okay now?_" She asked, still hung up on the whole dying thing.

"He's fine! We worked it out!" I cut in, wrapping an arm around the head of the drone.

"_I'm fine,_" Tony agreed. "_Don't be mad. I will formally apologize_—"

"_I **am **mad!_"

"—_when we're not fending off a Hammeroid attack._"

"_Fine_."

"_We could have been in Venice._"

"Oh, please," Pepper and I both replied.

Now that the arguing on the comms was done, I could focus more on what was happening with me. Problem was, I had taken down the drone I was on, only to get shot across the sky by another. I skipped across the ground and landed heavily in some sort of decorative garden, groaning as my helmet flipped open to reveal a worried-looking Rhodes and Tony.

"You lot… are _so_ dead when this is over," I snapped, accepting the hand up with a grimace. "My back is killing me and the bickering over the comms while _I'm_ trying to fight an army is _not_ helping."

"I'll buy you a drink after."

I shot Tony a look. "You better do a whole lot more than that."

"Is that a challenge?" He purred, making Rhodes groan.

"Could we not? I'm right here."

"And? I think you deserve it after taking the suit and adding to this whole mess," I huffed.

"I'm sorry, okay? But please don't drag me into the middle of this."

There was a hum then and we turned to see a drone landing nearby followed by a number of others. We had a small look around before our helmets slid back down, and the drones moved. Tony and I used our blasters while Rhodes used his guns, slowly taking down each drone that tried to approach us. Tony dodged a missile, using one of his newer weapons to destroy the three drones that had attacked him.

"See that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice," Rhodes complimented, making me roll my eyes as I shoved Tony's head down to avoid another missile that I caught and threw back at the drone.

"Pay attention fellas. Save the big dick contest for later."

"Rhodey, Jess," Tony called when the drones had started encircling us up close. "Get down."

We did and Tony swung his arms around, using laser cutters to destroy the lot.

"Wow. I think you should lead with that next time," Rhodey replied.

"Yeah, sorry boss. I can only use it once. It's a one-off."

"Poor time to use it," I muttered, earning a look.

"Excuse me?"

"In case you haven't noticed, we don't know where Vanko is. If Natasha made it to his controls, that means he bailed. And sorry to say this, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to just run off with his tail between his legs. I wouldn't doubt the fact that he had a suit of his own."

Natasha herself came in over the comms then. "_Jess is right. You've got one more drone incoming. This one looks different. The repulsor signature is significantly higher._"

I glanced over at Tony and Rhodes. "You just used your big gun on the small fry. Hope you have something up your sleeve for the big boss."

Said man dropped down a second later, his helmet sliding away to reveal a pleased-looking Ivan Vanko.

"Good to be back."

"Oh, this ain't gonna be good," Rhodes muttered as Vanko let out his electric whips. "I've got something special for this guy. I'm gonna bust his bunker with the Ex-Wife."

"With the what?"

Rhodes stepped forward as I shot Tony a look.

"He's wrong. This is gonna be good."

Tony snorted as Rhodes shot a bullet that bounced harmlessly off Vanko's armored suit. "Hammer tech?"

"Yeah…"

"I got this."

Tony shot out small missiles, but they too bounced off harmlessly and Vanko moved forward with his whips, swinging them in a way I recognized.

"He's a fan of that move," I muttered. "He'll hit directly ahead."

Sure enough, Vanko did and we dodged out of the way. Rhodes tried using his guns, but they were useless and Vanko sliced right through them. Tony tried to fly up, but I grabbed his ankle, pulling him back and out of the way of one of the whips.

"Bad idea. Flying gives him a wide opening to wrap the whips around you. Did you not learn anything from fighting him before?"

"Well, what do you advise then!" Tony complained as we all dodged more attacks.

"Think!" I snapped back. "Remember how he fought before and remember what additions were made to the drones we just used. He's going to use all of that. He's not talented in martial arts though, just your typical fisticuffs from prison. Even when fighting us with the drones, he wasn't using a well-thought-out, pre-planned form of action, just jumping in headfirst with heavy hits. Look out!"

We both ducked, but Vanko had already pinned Rhodes underfoot and got me around the waist, pulling me back into his hand that grabbed me around the neck.

"Jess!"

Tony was caught as well by his whip, leaving the man smirking as he squeezed my suit, making the screens flicker with red alerts.

"T-Tony. I've got an idea!" I choked out, wincing as I felt the metal of the suit beginning to warp under Vanko's hand. "Put your hand up!"

He knew what I was talking about and hesitated. "But you—"

"Will be fine! J-Just do it!"

He nodded, looking to Rhodes. "You heard her, Rhodes. You wanna be a hero?"

"What?"

"I could really use a sidekick. Put your hand up!"

"But Jess—"

"Do it!" I bit out, starting to see spots in my vision.

"I'm ready! Go, go, go!" Rhodes shouted and my vision went from black to a blinding white as their blasts connected and threw us apart.

* * *

"Jess! Jess, are you all right?" Tony questioned, patting the partially destroyed suit and grimacing when her helmet flipped open to reveal her as unconscious with some blood and grime streaked across her face. "Jarvis, diagnostics? Give me life signs."

A steady pulse flickered across his screen and he let out a sigh of relief as Jarvis spoke.

"_Lifelines are stable, though the suit needs repair and signs indicate possible head, neck, and back trauma among various bruising. None life-threatening._"

Tony picked Jess up, settling her on his back before giving Vanko a dark look. The man just smirked though.

"You lose."

He glanced at Rhodes, confused as to what the Russian meant, only for his suit and all the drones to begin beeping with red lights forming on their chest pieces.

"All these drones are rigged to blow. We gotta get out of here, man." Rhodes said.

"Pepper?" Tony remembered, looking to Rhodes, who nodded.

"I'm on it. You take care of Jess."

"Thank you."

"Hey, you owe me one."

"Yeah. Meet me on the nearest skyscraper?"

"On it."

They flew off and Tony landed quickly, setting Jess down on the ground as his own suit sparked and he pulled off his malfunctioning helmet. Jess groaned then, beginning to stir and he hastily moved to her side, stopping her from sitting up.

"Whoa, there. Take it easy. How's the neck?"

She opened her mouth, but winced and began to cough, unable to speak without pain a and making Tony grimace as well when he saw a hint of the dark bruises beginning to form on her throat along with blood from where the suit had been crushed.

"Right. Don't talk then. Um, first thing's first, I suppose. Vanko rigged himself and the drones with bombs. They just went off and Rhodes is grabbing Pepper since I had to carry you here."

Just as he said that Rhodes landed with a squirming Pepper, who was quick to push out of his arms and get her feet placed firmly back on the ground.

"Oh, my God! I can't take this anymore."

"_You_ can't?" Tony questioned.

"I can't take this."

"What are you—Look at me!" He argued, showing his torn-up suit. "Look at Jess!"

"My body, literally, cannot handle the stress. I never know if you're gonna kill yourself or, or, or wreck the whole company."

"I think I did okay!"

An explosion went off as Pepper shook her head.

"I quit. I'm resigning. That's it."

"What did you just say? You're done? That's surprising." He shook his head, changing his mind. "No, it's not surprising. I get it. Y-You don't have to make any excuses."

"I-I-I'm not making any excuses."

"Well, you actually were just making excuses, but you don't have to."

"No, I wasn't making an excuse. Because I'm actually very justified—"

"Listen. Hey, hey. You deserve better."

"Well…"

"You've taken such good care of me," Tony muttered softly. "I've been in a tough spot, but you got me through it and brought Jess into my life, so… Right?"

"Thank you," Pepper replied.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's, uh… Let's talk clean-up."

"I'll handle the transition," Pepper offered. "It'll be smooth."

"Okay, what about the press? Because you only had the job for a week. That's gonna seem—"

Jess clapped her hands, drawing his attention to her.

"You?"

She glared and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Right. Yes. You're very persuasive. I was just wondering about the throat thing."

She rolled her eyes and Rhodes cleared his throat.

"Listen. My car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm gonna have to hang on to your suit for a minute, okay?"

Tony and Jess exchanged a look.

"Not okay. Not okay with that," he said, helping Jess back up onto her feet.

"Wasn't a question," he replied, knowing they were messing with him and giving Pepper a look. "Need a lift?"

She nodded, not entirely comfortable flying again, but preferring that over being the third wheel between Jess and Tony.

"See you both tomorrow."

Tony and Jess waved and once they flew off, Tony raised a brow at Jess.

"Your suit's a bit compromised."

She shot him a look that had him smiling.

"Did it work well for your first go?"

She tipped her hand side-to-side, gesturing a so-so.

"Feel free to let me know so I make the adjustments for your suit. Although, if you're going to be helping me like that, you're going to need to work on that combat training."

Jess punched his arm, earning a chuckle as he helped her onto his back.

"Hang on."

* * *

Tony sat at a desk in a guarded warehouse, barely giving the holograms playing press releases a glance as he slid a folder near him labeled "Avengers Initiative: Preliminary Report." Before he could take a peak, a hand pressed it back onto the table, drawing his gaze up to Fury.

"I don't think I want you looking at that," he said, settling into the seat across from Tony. "I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this, on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you. Read it."

Tony took the offered file, eyeing it. "Uh, 'Personality overview: Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior.'" He looked to Fury as he nodded. "In my own defense, that was last week… 'Prone to self-destructive tendencies.' I was _dying_. I mean, please. And aren't we all?"

Fury didn't look remotely convinced by his arguments.

"'Textbook narcissism'?" Tony questioned, but gave one look to Fury and gave in on that one. "Agreed. Okay, here it is. Uh, 'Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.' I gotta think about it."

"Read on," Fury pressed, and he begrudgingly did.

"'Tony Stark not… _not_ recommended'? That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me but not approve me? I've got a new ticker. I'm trying to do right, uh, by, uh, Pepper and even better with Jess. I'm in a stable relationship."

Fury got up and moved to his side of the table, sitting on the edge. "Which leads us to believe at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant."

Tony thought for a second before standing up and offering his hand, which Fury took only for Tony to eye him. "You can't afford me." He started to leave, only to pause. "Then again, I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a couple of small favors."

Fury shifted, uncertain.

"Rhodey and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter."

"I'll see what I can do." Fury paused. "Not Jess? I do believe she was involved in assisting with the whole… Vanto thing."

"Well, she wanted to keep out of it. Something about potential lawsuits in the making. And favor number two." Tony eyed him seriously. "I want Jess to join with me."

Fury snorted and Tony bristled.

"What? She not good enough for your little superhuman boy band?"

"Quite the opposite, actually," Fury replied, pulling a page from Tony's file. "If you'd kept reading, you would have noticed the add-on Agent Romanoff tacked on. 'If considered for temporary or consultant position, it is best to include his lawyer and current partner, Jess Norris. While sometimes swayed to help Mr. Stark regardless of consequence, she has more control over his actions than most and is highly intelligent… more than capable of being added to the Avenger Initiative _without_ superhuman capabilities.'"

Tony blinked, rather surprised by the high praise, considering how Natasha and Jess had butt heads. "Well, then. I suppose that's settled. She'll be thrilled, I'm sure."

Fury raised a brow. "Will she?"

"No. Probably not, but she'll come around."

Fury shook his head with a small smile. "I look forward to working with you both."

"Yeah, no you don't."

* * *

"It is my honor to be here today to present these distinguished awards to Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes and Mr. Tony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure," Senator Stern bit out, resisting the urge to strangle the man who'd somehow managed to drag him out to give him an award. He stepped forward to pin the badge onto Rhodes' suit. "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel, for such an exceptionally distinguished performance. You deserve this," he said honestly.

"Thank you, sir."

He then moved over to Tony. "Mr. Stark. Thank you for such an exceptionally distinguished performance. You deserve this." And he proceeded to "accidentally" jab Tony with the pin. "Oh, sorry. Funny how annoying a little prick can be, isn't it? Let's get a photo."

Tony had started to think his plan to embarrass the senator was a bad move, but a quick glance into the crowd to see Jess clapping and shaking her head with suppressed laughter made it all worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the beginning of "The Avengers" movie. Point of views will be bouncing around a bit more between first and third person. Hope you all enjoy. Hope no one ends up out of character, and trust me when I say Jess isn't going to end up on everyone's good side, despite initial appearances. She's just a bit too stubborn for that. ;) And thanks to everyone who's read/reviewed/followed/favorited thus far! I love hearing feedback from you guys!**

* * *

I took a piece of bacon from the pan, earning a slightly annoyed look from Tony as I typed on my laptop that was tucked in the crook of my arm.

"Did you hear about this?" I questioned. "Big earthquake down in New Mexico."

"No, and not to sound rude, but why should I care about anything other than the reason you're stealing a part of my breakfast?" Tony questioned.

"_Our_ breakfast."

"That _I'm_ cooking."

"At nearly ten at night."

"It's breakfast for us."

I rolled my eyes, turning the laptop around on the table as I sat, and he slid over a cup of coffee. He eyed the image on screen with furrowed brows.

"Casualties?"

"Not many. Most evacuated from the building not too long before the quake. The picture just caught my eye." I eyed him over the rim of my cup. "Doesn't look like earthquake damage. Too localized. Not directly on a fault. Looks more like a sinkhole, except there's no way it could be."

"Weather in that area wouldn't account for that. So? What're you thinking?"

"Power plant was playing with something in their basement and it blew."

He turned the laptop back around, returning to the stove. "And _why_ does that bother you?"

"A lot of things bother me."

He snorted. "Understatement of the year, though, it doesn't account for the bags under your eyes. Classes getting to you?"

I shook my head, skimming the article. "No. MIT is going fine. It's lack of sleep. Been having some odd dreams, and I figured I should keep an eye out for things that might cause trouble for us."

"Us, as in Iron Man."

"Hm," I hummed in agreement.

"What kind of dreams?" He questioned and I ran a hand through my hair.

"Odd, like I said. Make no sense. Hard to remember clearly. Just… a box."

"A box?"

I nodded. "A blue box that just sort of whispers. I can't remember what it said though, just… I don't know. It bothers me."

He cracked a small smirk as he brought over a couple of plates of food. "A lot of things bother you."

"Don't play smart."

He kissed my temple as he set down the plate and went to take a seat himself. "What's on the agenda this evening?"

"Getting the power working properly in this place," I said, just as the lights flickered.

"Did you figure out where the electrical grid pathways are?"

I nodded, typing up a few things before sliding the laptop over so he could see. "Not far, just under a few hundred feet of water. You'll have to take the suit."

"You say that like I hate taking the suit."

"I'd rather you _avoid_ doing chores in the suit, so, yes. I'm not thrilled, especially after what happened with the laundry."

"You said the dryer wasn't working. The electrician wouldn't be able to fix it until next week and you already had a finished load in the wash. I assumed hanging it up to dry would take too long and thought flying around with it would dry it up nicely."

"Only for half my laundry to go missing in the tri-state area, half get covered in bird shit, and a video of you getting attacked by angry pigeons to go viral because you _accidentally_ landed on a roof that wasn't stable and fell into a large nesting site." I shot him a look as he smiled fondly at the memory. "I may not be your lawyer anymore, but I'm still cleaning up after you now that everyone knows about us. Your reputation is attached to mine, you know."

"You don't mind."

"I know," I sighed. "What has the world come to?"

He chuckled as the door opened and Pepper strolled in, eyeing the two of us with a raised brow.

"I was going to ask if you were ready to do the power upgrade, but you two are obviously having a moment. Should I come back later?"

I groaned as Tony waved her in. "Oh, don't start, Pepper," I complained. "We're just eating."

"Sitting a little close for 'just eating.'"

"_And_ discussing my sanity after getting together with him."

She chuckled, sitting down as well as she pulled out her own laptop and a headset. "Please. I knew you were mad for dealing with him from the start."

"Says you," I huffed, sipping my drink as Tony hastily finished his meal and went to get his suit on.

Once he was on his way, we waited to hear word from him finishing up.

"_Good to go on this end. The rest is up to you two,_" he soon responded.

"More like Pepper," I said around a mouthful of food as she replied back to him.

"You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?"

"_Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy._"

"Assuming everything works," I hummed.

"_Well, aren't you positive._"

"I'm a realist, thanks."

"_Light her up._"

Pepper pressed the key on the laptop and the lights flickered before turning on brighter than ever. "How does it look?"

"_Like Christmas, but with more… me._"

"Careful," I mused, "your inner narcissist is showing."

Pepper cracked a smile. "We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings."

"_Pepper, you're killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment? Even Jess is appreciative._"

"Actually, she got up to do the dishes."

"_Jess, come on!_"

"Sorry if I don't feel like adding to your ego," I hummed, spotting the ringing phone and checking the caller ID. "Tony, that Agent Coulson is on the phone."

"_We're not in. I'm actually out._"

"Wasn't _he _in New Mexico?"

Jarvis chimed in then. "_Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting._"

"_Grow a spine, Jarvis._ _I've got a date, right, Jess?_"

I rolled my eyes at Pepper's raised brow. "He picks one day every two weeks to have a date of his choosing. Last week was my turn and he wasn't thrilled to get dragged downstairs to work on _my_ suit."

"Well, it's not exactly bonding."

"You'd be surprised. We didn't exactly get much done."

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I think I should head out then. I don't think I need to see what happens when _he_ picks the date."

Tony stepped in then, glancing at Pepper's retreating back. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah. Levels are apparently holding steady and I'm not sticking around to be the third wheel between you two."

"Oh, well, see ya."

I gave him a light slap on the arm. "He meant to say thank you for your help."

"No, he didn't," Pepper replied good-naturedly, stepping out with a wave and leaving me to shoot Tony a disapproving look.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me. Be nicer to her, would you? Don't forget that she almost quit on you and if she changes her mind about staying where would we be then, huh?"

Tony sighed, but gave in, strolling over to where I leaned on a table near a holographic display of the tower.

"All right. I suppose we'd both be a little screwed."

"More than that," I chuckled with a shake of my head as he placed his hands on my hips.

"Well, how does it feel to be a genius?"

I snorted. "I'm hardly a genius."

"What do you mean? All this came from you," he said, gesturing to the hologram before it vanished.

"Don't flatter me, Tony. We both know this mess came from your little toy," I argued, tapping his chest piece lightly. "I hardly did anything in comparison to you and Pepper."

"Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself twelve percent of the credit."

"First off, don't call it my baby. Second, twelve percent?"

"Well, Pepper did approximately fifteen, but I could argue you did more."

"Fifteen?" I scoffed, slipping past him as he tried to make up by… not really making up.

"Well, I _did_ do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."

I shook my head with a snort of amusement as I grab us some drinks.

"My private elevator," he continued.

"_Our_ private elevator?" I countered, passing him a glass as I poured my own.

"It was teeming with sweaty workmen. I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"Probably, though I don't know about subtle."

"Tell you what," he took a seat across from me. "Next building is gonna say Jess on the tower."

"God, no. I'll kill you if you even try. I'm not a fan of being in the public eye."

"Yet, you got together with me."

"Again, I don't know _what_ I was thinking," I teased before Jarvis chimed in.

"_Sir, ma'am. The telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden._"

"So much for a date," I grumbled, sipping my drink as Coulson broke in through the line.

"_Mr. Stark, we need to talk._"

Tony sighed, picking up the phone and holding it up so Coulson could see him. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message."

Coulson didn't fall for it. "_This is urgent._"

"Then, leave it urgently."

The elevator opened then, the man stepping out himself, earning a raised brow from me.

"Definitely urgent then."

"Security breach," Tony said, giving me a look. "It's on you."

"I'll fix the protocols later," I huffed at him, earning a small smirk.

"Mr. Stark, Jess."

"How are you, Phil?" I asked, leaning back to peer at him from over the back of the couch.

"Phil?" Tony questioned.

"I can't stay," Coulson said, us having somehow managed to come to a mutual agreement to be civil to one another unless we do something annoying.

"Uh, his first name is Agent," Tony replied, confused about the first-name basis.

"Curious," I chimed in, drawing Coulson's gaze to shift to me. "How was your trip to New Mexico? Feel the earthquake?"

He somehow managed to plaster a smile on his face, though it was very obviously forced. "No, actually. I didn't."

"You're a terrible liar."

The smile fell before Tony cleared his throat, moving to stand between us.

"W-We were actually in the middle of something."

Coulson passed him a file. "We need you to look this over as soon as possible."

"I don't like being handed things," Tony murmured, and I got up with a sigh, taking it instead.

"We're working on it, but unless it's an alcoholic beverage, he hasn't changed much." I then passed the file to Tony, taking his drink so he had his hands free.

He sighed. "Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation."

"Just open the file, Tony. The only reason they'd be bugging us is if it's something that'd interest you," I sighed, before giving Coulson a look. "Let me take a wild guess though. I'm assuming it has something to do with the not-earthquake in New Mexico and you're dragging us in because of that Avengers nonsense, right?"

"I thought that was scrapped, and I didn't even qualify," Tony hummed, opening the file anyway.

"_That_, I didn't know," I said, giving him a look.

"Yeah. Apparently, I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others."

"Sounds accurate."

"They invited _you_ though if I got dragged along."

I gave Coulson a look. "Something else I didn't know. Didn't we talk about communication, Tony?"

Tony flinched, glancing at me from over his shoulder. "Yes, though I will admit, this was _before _that conversation and I do believe the fact that it was scrapped meant I didn't have to tell you because it wouldn't happen."

I rolled my eyes, giving Coulson a look. _See what I have to deal with?_

_Better you than me,_ he non-verbally replied before speaking up once more. "This isn't about personality profiles anymore."

"Whatever. Jess, got a second?"

"Since I'm technically involved in this insanity anyway, sure." I downed what was left of my drink and gave Coulson the empty glass to hold as I went over to join Tony.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment."

I snorted. "I was having twelve percent of a moment."

He shot me a look. "What happened to subtle?"

"Pretty sure I said _not_ subtle. Now, what's going on? Phil was a little _too_ easily rattled by my question earlier. He's usually better about lying."

"Why is he Phil?"

"We came to an agreement. I'll stop annoying him if he does the same. The first name was just to get him to call me by my first name instead of Miss Norris. Now, what's in the file?"

Tony swiped outward and the vides and articles spread out on holograms across the room. "This."

My eyes bounced from video to video, recognizing the familiar red, white and blue shield Tony had had for his supposed "commission" and a little surprised by a large green man in another video hurling a car. _Oh, no. Don't tell me._ I looked at Coulson.

"I don't want to read it."

"Excuse me?"

I huffed, turning away from the videos and ignoring the surprised look Tony shot me. "You heard me. I'm not reading it."

"Director Fury—"

"Is _not_ my boss, and if we're going to get dragged into this Avengers thing, then I want to get to know the members on _my_ terms. _Especially_ if I'm going to be one of the few non-superpowered people working alongside them. If Fury has a problem with that, then he'll just have to get over it. I'm not about to read up on everyone's lives and cause more internal conflict, thanks."

Coulson saw that he wasn't going to be able to argue with me and sighed. "Very well. I'll let him know."

"Good." I looked to Tony. "You'll be busy though, so I'm going to call it a night. You can pick another day for our date."

He pouted, but there was still a hint of hope. "And if I finish early?"

I rolled my eyes, waving a hand over my shoulder as I made for the elevator. "_Goodnight_, Tony."

"Spoilsport," he grumbled, and I walked out before I saw him pull a holographic blue box out from a file.

Exactly like the one haunting my nightmares.

* * *

Steve Rogers stepped out of the plane at Coulson's side as Natasha headed over.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced, more than a little star-struck.

"Ma'am," Steve greeted.

"Hi," Natasha looked to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

"See you there," Coulson replied, slipping past and Natasha gave Steve a once-over as they started walking across the aircraft carrier.

"It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?"

"They're vintage. He's very proud."

They spotted another man not far away, shuffling nervously around crew members.

"Dr. Banner," Steve called out, recognizing him from the files he'd read.

"Uh, yeah. Hi," Bruce responded, shaking his hand awkwardly. "They told me you would be coming."

"Word is, you can find the Cube."

Bruce looked around anxiously. "Is that the only word on me?"

"Only word I care about."

Bruce felt a small hint of relief at that, glad at least one person on the ship wasn't bothered by his other self. "It must be strange for you, all of this."

Steve glanced at the soldiers and planes as yet another one landed and someone stepped out. "Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

"Okay, you _have_ to let me get a model of these planes or something."

An Agent beside the figure sighed heavily. "I already told you, they're top secret."

"And now, I know, so they're obviously not _that_ secret. And it's not like I'm going to show them off. Honestly. Where's Coulson? At least he can propose a better argument than you."

Steve raised a brow as the slim figure turned and spotted them. Or, as he soon found out, spotted Natasha.

"Oh, thank God. Someone competent. Natasha! You can get me a model of these planes, right?" The man—No, _woman—_asked, heading over to where Natasha was rolling her eyes.

"Hologram or physical?"

The woman smirked, shooting her escort a look. "See? Even _she_ knows I'm worth it."

Natasha waved the agent off and raised a brow at her. "Did you torture him the whole way over?"

"I just asked questions. I'm a lawyer, it's what I do."

"_Ex_-lawyer." Natasha looked to Steve and Bruce then. "Steve Rogers, Dr. Bruce Banner, this is Jess Norris."

Jess turned and took Steve's outstretched hand, giving him and Bruce a small smile. "Hey. Nice to meet you."

"And you, ma'am," Steve said politely, earning a small surprised blink.

"Right. Just call me Jess. I've only been called ma'am while working and it annoys the hell out of me."

Steve cracked a smile, liking her bluntness. "All right. Jess it is."

"She wasn't in the files," Bruce muttered then, eyeing Jess uncertainly.

Jess turned to Natasha in surprise. "Really?"

"You didn't want to read their files, so we assumed you wouldn't care for the other way around."

Jess groaned. "Oh, please. I'm used to getting vetted, and I only refused to read their files because I want to get to know them myself. They can read about me if they want. Give it to them. I mean, it's not like I'm going to really play a big part in all of this." She looked at Steve and Bruce. "I'm a civilian. I only got dragged into this because I'm dating Tony Stark."

Steve's eyes widened. "_You're_ dating Tony Stark?"

"I know. Insane, right?" Jess cracked a smile. "But it's working out so far. Fury just invited me along to keep him under control, so I'm basically a glorified babysitter. If you want my files though, go for it. Just know that I don't know a thing about you, and if you don't want me to, then I'm fine keeping it that way."

Bruce didn't look entirely convinced, but Steve couldn't help but smile. It wasn't often that someone looked at him and saw nothing but a normal human being instead of Captain America.

"Where _is_ Stark, anyway?" Natasha asked.

"Stayed home," Jess huffed with a roll of her eyes. "He'll claim that he sent me here to do reconnaissance, but I'm choosing to help in any way I can. He'll probably show up later in the biggest, most dramatic display he can think of."

Natasha cracked the slightest of smiles. "I see. Don't know if the Director will be pleased or not."

Jess snorted, looking back at Bruce and Steve. "He doesn't like me much. I told him his Avengers plan was stupid."

"I do believe your exact words were something along the lines of 'some eye-patch wearing, scary guy isn't going to be enough to just say the word and stop them,'" Natasha chirped, making Jess shrug.

"Well, it's true. He can't even control Tony."

"He got you here. Isn't that enough?"

"Please. I came because I'm going to get dragged in no matter what. World's in danger, Iron Man shows up eventually. I figured I'd get a head start."

Natasha shot her a look. "You and Tony had a fight, didn't you?"

Jess huffed. "He claimed I only contributed twelve percent to the towers he's setting up and that he did all the heavy lifting. He deserves a bit of the silent treatment."

"Uh-huh," Natasha rolled her eyes, before addressing them all. "Gentlemen, Jess. You might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe."

The ship began to whir with machinery as an announcement had everyone preparing the ship.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve questioned, though Bruce looked a little nervous.

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized metal container?"

The group walked to the edge though, and Jess grinned.

"Oh, no way."

The ship wasn't a submarine, but a plane itself with turbines revving up to lift it into the sky.

"No, no. This is much worse," Bruce complained as Jess hurried back to Natasha.

"I want a model."

"You'll have to ask Director Fury."

Jess was still grinning though. "You think he'll let me fly one of the planes too?"

Steve raised a brow. "You fly?"

"Mom flew planes in a military airplane hangar. Dad was a mechanic." Her eyes sparked. "So, yeah. I _love_ planes."

"Maybe I know her. What's her name?"

If Jess was surprised by the comment, she didn't show it. "Janette Wilson."

He nodded, smiling. "I knew her! Or, well, I met her briefly a few times. She was a good person. Always looking after soldiers."

Jess cracked a small smile. "Sounds like her."

"And your father?" He almost regreted asking when her smile faltered.

"Samuel Norris." She managed to force one on. "Not quite as kind."

Sensing that her father was a sensitive subject, Steve let the topic drop as they were led into the main control hub of the ship. Agents were scattered around, some typing away others walking between destinations with Director Fury standing in the center flying the ship.

"Retro-reflection panels?" Jess hummed, appearing behind Fury's shoulder before he could turn around. "Well, aren't you lot clever."

"No thanks to your boyfriend." Fury gave her a glance as he turned. "Nice to see at least you joined us."

"Please. We both know you're not entirely thrilled."

"You're right. I'm not." Fury looked to the other two. "Gentlemen."

Steve pulled out his wallet and handed him a ten-dollar bill, earning raised brows as Jess looked over the controls to the ship and he went to speak with Bruce.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson explained to them, catching Jess and Steve's attention. "Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"What if he wants to be found?" Jess asked then, drawing attention to her as she folded her arms over her chest. "I mean, I know very little about this whole mess other than some alien guy stealing something powerful from you. Thing is, for someone to just walk into one of the most secured, best-kept secrets of Earth, steal something and walk away? That takes confidence. If I was that confident, I wouldn't exactly fear getting spotted. And if this guy's anything like Tony." Jess snorted. "He'll be showing it off."

"That's still not going to find him in time," Natasha said; Bruce, agreeing.

"You have to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" He asked, taking off his suit coat.

"How many are there?" Fury challenged.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

Jess sighed. "I'm telling you, he's just going to be out in the open. I'd start looking at gatherings or parties of rich people."

"Why?" Fury questioned, giving her a look.

"Because. If you've got all the power you could want, and you've got enough confidence to not be afraid of anyone, you're going to show it off and make the most powerful people feel like dirt under your shoes."

Bruce blinked slowly. "You… You're rather dark, aren't you?"

Jess cracked a smirk. "Lawyer."

"_Ex_-lawyer," Fury countered. "And Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"

Natasha stepped up and led the way. "You're gonna love it, Doc. We've got all the toys."

Jess sighed as they left and Fury came up beside her, leaning his arms on the railing.

"Any more smart ideas?"

"Well, he took your little power supply for a reason."

"He took more than the Tesseract. He has my agents and a scientist as well."

"So, he needs man-power. Start looking into people who've gone missing within the time frame of him disappearing and now. Despite popular belief, one man can't rule on his own."

Fury cracked the smallest of smiles. "I don't know how Stark deals with you."

Jess raised a brow. "You know, usually people question how _I_ deal with _him_."

"He's a narcissistic genius, but you're the quiet type. Hidden geniuses are far worse, trust me."

Jess shot him a surprised look before one of the agents called out.

"We've got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Wait. Cross match, seventy-nine percent."

Jess moved to Fury's screens as he brought up the picture.

"Location?" Coulson asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Königstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

Jess smirked smugly at Fury as he rolled his eyes and she pointed out the clothes the man was wearing in the picture.

"Told you. Black-tie event. Rich and famous. Let me guess, a gala of some kind? Maybe an auction?"

Fury sighed. "Yes, we get it. Captain. You're up."

* * *

I watched the screen in the plane, humming in thought while trying to keep my eyes away from the pilot and controls. Flying the plane was beginning to get far too tempting now. On screen though, was footage from the gala where our man—Loki—had appeared.

"Kind of scary how right I was," I muttered, watching as the crowd was forced to kneel before the man. "Someone's got a power complex."

Natasha sighed. "Why did I agree to let you come with me?"

"Because, if I could figure this out with minimal information, how quickly do you think Tony figured it out?" My watch beeped and I showed it to her. "See? His suit's just left the house."

"You got a tracker put on it? How'd he allow that?"

"He didn't. I made friends with his AI. Besides, if he's so clever, he would have worked it out by now." I shrugged. "Curious though, why this gala? He's got to be decently clever to get past you lot, this Loki fella. So, wouldn't he just find the nearest party and crash it? Why Germany? Why here? Has anyone looked into the event at all? Location? Anything?"

"We're a little more focused on getting the Tesseract back, Jess."

I sighed. "He won't have it _with_ him. And the people he took aren't exactly around him. So, he either came alone to have a little fun, _or_—"

"Or, it's a distraction," she realized.

"Bingo. I'll start looking into information," I hummed, typing away on a holographic pad that Tony had gotten me ages ago. "Let Fury know he owes me flying lessons in these new planes."

She rolled her eyes as I caught sight of a man standing up in the crowd on screen, reaching up and touching my comm.

"Hey, Captain? Aim for the one standing fellow. Loki's going to make an example of him."

"_On it._"

Natasha shot me a look. "Nice catch."

I cracked a small, bitter smile. "Bullied in middle school. You stand out, people lock on."

The plane was pulled to a stop and armed, all guns aimed at Loki as Natasha called out to him on the PA.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

"Does that ever work?" I questioned, earning an annoyed look from her. "Just saying. Besides, he has the upper hand. We can't fire with civilians in the way. He knows that."

Sure enough, Loki threw a blast at the plane and I grimaced when it was forced to dodge, and the Captain charged in. A fight began between the two and Natasha grumbled.

"The guy's all over the place."

"It's a fight. Of course, he is. As I said, we're not going to get a shot off properly like this," I replied.

"Do you have any _helpful_ information yet, Jess? Or are you just going to mock me from the back seat?"

"Tetchy. If you must know, it's some auction event that was happening with a number of infamous rich people. None of whom really stand out to me."

"What were they auctioning?"

"Looking… Mostly art. A few sculptures, archaeology pieces that I'm sure various cultures would like returned and… Ooh. This might be interesting."

"What is it?"

I typed away, grateful that Tony had helped me develop my hacking skills a little better than they were. "Give me a second. I'm still not quite used to hacking more advanced systems but… there! There's a warehouse owned by a Heinrich Schafer, who was the person who set up the party. Inside, is one an item called, Iridium." My brows furrowed. "There's not much info on it. It's an element found in meteorites, making it rare, and forms anti-protons. I don't know how helpful that would be to Loki, but… oh, dear."

"What?"

"The cameras outside the warehouse are out. I'll try hacking into some of the internal ones."

"_Agent Romanoff, you miss me?_"

I snorted at the sound of Tony's voice over the comms. "You know, Tony, most people ask that to their girlfriends before they ask their ex-secretary."

"_Jess! I didn't know you were in there. Are we finally on talking terms again?_"

"Depends. Are you ready to admit I contributed more than twelve percent?"

"_Well, if we're adding up everything you did, I might be able to boost it to fifteen._"

"Excuse—"

"Guys, we're in the middle of a situation here. Could we save the bickering for later?" Natasha cut me off, and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine."

"_Fine._"

AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill" came over the PA system as Iron Man flew down and hit Loki with a blast, knocking him back into the stairs as Tony aimed more weapons at the man.

"_Make your move, Reindeer Games._"

Loki's armor and staff disappeared, and he lifted his hand in surrender.

"_Good move._"

"Show off," I muttered, before finding what I was looking for. "Natasha, we've got a problem."

"What?"

"I got into the internal cameras and, well, they didn't last long. This was all I got."

I showed her the shot clip of someone walking into the warehouse before they turned to the camera and took it out with an arrow. Judging by the sharp intake of breath though, what I'd shown her _was_ important.

"I take it you know him?"

"Yes. That's Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. He was one of the people taken by Loki. Can you send that information to Director Fury?"

"Sure, but by the time anyone gets there, it'll all be over with."

"Do it anyway," she grumbled as she landed the plane and Tony and Steve brought Loki onboard.

"So, _did_ you miss me?" Tony asked, kissing my temple as I rolled my eyes.

"Did I miss you as a person? Sure. Did I miss everything that comes along with you? No, not really."

"Ouch, Jess. That really hurts," he whined, touching his chest as I rolled my eyes and gave him a quick kiss.

"You'll get over it."

"If this continues later, I definitely will." He smirked, only for Natasha to sigh.

"Can we _not_ flirt in close quarters? I might throw up."

"Sorry," I smiled innocently, as Steve raised a brow.

"You know, I think I believe it now. You two being together. I didn't think it was possible, but somehow it seems to work."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Captain," Tony scoffed and as we flew back to the ship, Fury's voice came over the radio.

"_Is he saying anything?_"

"Not a word," Natasha replied as I gave Loki a glance.

_Because he's smart and decent on the eyes, but I'm not about to say that out-loud with Tony here._ I drummed my fingers on my keyboard, still trying to find more information on the Iridium.

"_Just get him here. We're low on time._"

"And the warehouse?"

"_Sorry. We were too late._"

Natasha flicked off the radio and I glanced back at Tony and Steve as they talked.

"I don't like this," Steve muttered.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics," Tony explained. "You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

"Tony," I chided him, getting up and lightly smacking his chest as I gave the Captain an apologetic look. "Sorry. He's a dick even on a good day."

"Hey, I can be civil."

"Then do it, you twat," I snipped at him. "That was a rule, remember? I get to come along, but you—"

"Have to try and be civil. Yes, I know. It was a stupid idea."

I rolled my eyes, giving Steve a look. "You see what I have to deal with?"

Steve managed a small smile. "Can't be easy."

"Don't even get me started."

"I _am_ right here," Tony cut in.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

"If it helps, I'm pretty sure Fury didn't _want_ him to come in," I chimed, hearing thunder roll in the background and turning with a frown. "A storm?"

Natasha looked confused too. "Where's this coming from?"

Loki shifted then, drawing our gaze to him.

"What's the matter?" Steve asked. "Are you scared of a little lightning?"

"Hold on," I stopped him, stepping towards Loki, despite Tony reaching out to stop me. "Loki's brother in Norse mythology is Thor, the God of thunder, isn't it?"

Loki's gaze caught mine. "I'm not overly fond of what follows lightning."

"Natasha?" I called out over my shoulder, shifting back towards my seat. "I hope we're on good terms with his brother."

Something hit the top of the plane and I was quick to refasten my seatbelt.

"Because I think we're about to be paid a visit."

Tony put on his Iron Man helmet and I groaned as he opened the rear hatch.

"Really? Do you really have to fight? We could just talk, you know," I complained, glancing over my shoulder to see a blond man land on the opened hatch. "And can I just say, my entire _life_ has just been thrown on its head. Norse Gods?"

Tony was hit by the man's hammer and thrown back, giving the man I could only assume was Thor a chance to pull Loki up out of his chair and fly off through the storm.

"And now there's that guy," Tony complained, getting up again as Natasha looked to me.

"Another Asgardian?"

"Weren't you listening? It has to be Thor, Loki's brother!" I called out over the noise of the storm. "I-I don't know about this Asgardian thing, but it makes sense if we think about Norse mythology. Lightning storm, big hammer?"

"That guy's a friendly?" Steve questioned.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost," Tony said, making me groan.

"Again, if we could just _talk_ to the guy—"

"Sorry, Jess. No time," Tony said, making for the door.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve tried to stop him.

"I have a plan. Attack."

I sighed, rubbing my temples as he flew out and Steve went to grab a parachute. "God, dammit."

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha tried to tell Steve.

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legend. They're basically Gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

Steve too jumped out and I gave Natasha a look.

"Should I…"

Natasha shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Oh, come _on._ Tony and Steve just went out there to fight a couple of Gods who are obviously having a brother's quarrel. If they try to interfere—"

"Getting _you_ involved won't help."

"It might," I argued. "If we could just talk to them—"

"You can't solve everything by talking."

"Because people don't _try_ talking first!" I countered a bit sharply, earning a slightly surprised look from her. "Look. We all want the Tesseract. He just wants Loki. We jump in to interfere with that, and we're doing nothing but causing more trouble than we need to. We come up with a compromise. We hold onto Loki with Thor able to stand with him as well, we work together to get the cube, everyone's happy!"

Natasha looked conflicted. "Where's your suit?"

I smiled, tapping my watch. "I can bring it right here."

She sighed, before waving me off, and I was quick to undo my seatbelt and jump out of the back of the plane. _Ooh, okay. Not the smartest move. Falling is definitely not fun._ I hastily tapped my watch, grateful when the dark blue of the suit began to fly around me and attach before I got the thrusters going.

"Jarvis, send me right for my idiot boyfriend."

"_Yes, miss._"

It was easy enough to find Tony and Thor, and I even spotted the Captain heading over. Loki though was up above them and I sighed.

"Idiots left the one we need all on his lonesome. He could easily just run off."

I landed behind Loki, who turned with a glare, but I held my hands up and had my mask flip open.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to spook you. I mostly came to stop everyone fighting. Would you mind joining me down there?"

"What for? This is quite amusing if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, sure. My thing is, I don't want Tony getting hurt. You may or may not want your brother getting hurt. But… well, I think it'd be hilarious if a woman was able to stop all of them, don't you think?" I cracked a smile, hoping my plan would work.

_If I remember anything about Norse mythology, it's that Loki's a trickster, a joker. If he and his brother don't get along, then he should be willing to embarrass him. And what better way than to throw a woman in the midst, as sexist as it is._ Loki began to smirk.

"All right."

"Cool."

My helmet flipped down, and I grabbed him by the back of his clothes—much to his shock—before I plopped us both right between Thor and Steve. Thor had been about to hit Steve with his hammer, but I reached around, grabbed the Captain's shield off his arm and hit Thor in the wrist, knocking his aim off completely and ending the attack before it could even start.

"Who dare—"

"Jess?" Tony questioned, his helmet flipping off as mine did the same.

"Yeah, are the three of you quite finished?" I asked, giving them all a look as I shoved the shield back into the Captain's chest. "Look. Captain, you get back to the plane. Asking someone to put down their weapon when you yourself still have yours is rude. Everyone wants to be safe, so everyone keeps their weapons. Okay?"

Steve seemed to shrink back a bit but nodded.

"Tony."

"Oh, dear," Tony muttered when my glare turned to him.

"Not everything needs to be a fight. Get your ass back on the plane or we're going to have a problem."

"Jess, I—"

"I mean it."

He scowled but huffed. "_Fine_."

They both started to walk off and I turned to Thor, who eyed me with uncertainty, though he wasn't attacking yet, possible because Loki was dusting himself off behind me.

"Thor, right?" I asked. "I'm Jess Norris. I want to make a deal with you."

"I don't want any deals," he snapped.

I blinked slowly, not really threatened because it was obvious he had some morals seeing as he hadn't come any closer to me despite his brother being within reach. "I'll just talk then, and you can listen. I don't want a fight between you or anyone else. You want Loki and we can give him to you, but he took something from us, and we would like to know where it is. If you _also_ happen to be looking for this Tesseract thing, then I think we could work together."

"Why?" He questioned, looking lost.

"Because I don't think you want to fight either." I lifted my hands in surrender and had the suit removed and sent back. "You get your brother, safely, and the Tesseract gets dealt with, safely. That's all I want, and I'm sure it's all you want too. So, why not work together?"

"And if I refuse?"

"Then, I cannot account for whatever happens to you, your bother, or the Tesseract, because people are stupid. They _will_ fight back."

Slowly, he began to lose his rough edge and lowered his hammer.

"Very well, Jess Norris. I will speak with you."

I let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Good. I really didn't want to try and fight a God."

He cracked the smallest of smiles.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this is a bit late but I'll have the rest of the Avenger's movie posted today. There's a note on both my accounts as to what I have planned for my stories, as I've just started graduate school and am short on time to write. But anyway, hope you enjoy this! And please review! It really helps me know how I'm doing with this :)**

* * *

Loki was placed inside a sealed metal container with clear walls as Fury worked some controls.

"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass…" Fury opened up a pit underneath the container, allowing Loki to look down into the sky below. "30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He closed the door. "Ant. Boot."

Loki though, chuckled. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard." Loki turned to the camera that was playing footage to the others in a different room. "_A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How __**desperate**__ are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?_"

"_How desperate am I?_" Fury mocked.

"Very," Jess muttered, earning a raised brow from Tony. "What?"

"_You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did._"

Jess opened her mouth, but Tony kicked her under the table, shutting her up before she could make another snarky comment as he got up to get a quick tour. It wasn't the right sort of atmosphere to be making jokes.

"_Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is._"

"_Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something,_" Fury said as he left, and the connection was switched off.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce teased, earning a snort from Jess.

"Anyone who can upset Fury grows on me," she hummed.

"Sorry. Jess sort of upset him repeatedly before, so Fury's not really her fan," Tony explained to the others, though Steve smirked.

"So, we've heard." He got them back on topic then. "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri," Thor replied. "They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army from outer space."

Jess sighed. "Don't sound so surprised, Steve."

Bruce hummed. "So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor questioned.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend," Thor corrected.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha clarified, "along with one of ours."

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

"You could just ask, you know," Jess hummed.

"I doubt he'll just tell you."

"Never hurts to try, though he wants us focused on him, that much is obvious."

"What makes you say that?" Bruce questioned, though he already knew they needed to turn their attention away from Loki.

"Lawyers do it all the time. They want to turn the jury's attention to the sob story. Make the criminal seem like the victim in order to keep their attention away from the fact the criminal committed a crime. This is something similar. He wants us focused on him to turn our attention away from whatever he's getting his group of mind-controlled people doing."

"Well, I agree," Bruce replied. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor grumbled. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha argued.

"He's adopted," Thor tried, earning a small smile from Jess.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce explained. "Jess, you said they were taking Iridium, right? What do they need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony said upon his return, turning to chat with Coulson. "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive."

Jess rolled her eyes. "And he returns."

"Come on, Jess. You know you love me," Tony teased, kissing her temple and massaging her shoulders as he continued. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D. Nice catch, Jess, knowing it wasn't an earthquake."

"Don't mock me," she muttered, though not pressing the issue too much.

Tony's fingers were working magic on her tense shoulders, but he was quick to stop and gave Thor a pat on the arm.

"No hard feelings, Point-Break. You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants," He continued explaining, as if he'd never stopped to mess with Thor, before standing at the helm of the ship. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails."

Jess sighed as the crew below shot Tony annoyed looks. In response, Tony pointed to another crew member.

"That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

"Sorry. Believe it or not, but even a genius can be an idiot," Jess explained, getting up as Tony put a hand to his face.

"How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns," Maria Hills said, looking displeased.

"Sounds exhausting."

"And at the moment, _you're _being exhausting," Jess complained. "Go sit down."

"Why?"

"Because I told you too."

Tony turned to face her with a frown. "You're not the boss of me."

"Oh, believe me, I am." Jess pointed at a chair. "Sit."

Tony opened his mouth to argue and Jess raised a brow. It took only a second, but Tony begrudgingly gave in and took a seat with a childish pout—the others struggling to resist the urge to snigger.

"Now, continue," Jess waved Tony on, sitting down beside him.

"The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hills questioned dubiously.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. You should have taken a look, Jess. They were pretty good. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

"He'd have to heat the cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Bruce jumped in.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," Tony said, getting up and approaching Bruce as Jess eyed the two over the rim of her coffee mug.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy-ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English," Tony praised.

"Is that what just happened?" Bruce questioned as they shook hands in appreciation.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lost control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"…Thanks."

"And that's as civil as he gets," Jess grumbled, just as Fury walked in.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him, seeing as your current partner is willing to."

"Again, I'm only babysitting," Jess drawled as Steve spoke up.

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube," Fury informed. "And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I do not understand," Thor said, and Jess leaned back in her chair to look at him.

"It's a figure of speech. He means lackeys, slaves. It's from a movie."

Thor blinked, but nodded, starting to get it with the simpler explanation as Steve announced he understood the reference and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Shall we play, Doctor?"

Bruce gestured to the door. "This way, sir."

Tony though, pointed a stern finger at Jess. "No trouble making."

"Says the trouble-maker," Jess countered, waving him off. "I'll drag you two out later for food. I've seen how you get Tony, and something tells me you get absorbed in your work much the same way, Dr. Banner."

Bruce cracked a sheepish smile and they headed out.

* * *

I rubbed at the kink in my neck, waiting for the coffee to finish up so I could bring Tony and Bruce an evening meal. _And I'll be lucky if they sit down to eat it instead of scooping some off the plate and continuing to work._ I glanced at the sandwich wraps, skewered fruits, and deviled eggs uncertainly. _They're working, so I wanted non-messy finger food, but I don't have a clue what Bruce's preferences are. Tony probably would want something less healthy, but just because his chest piece is working nicely doesn't mean he should stop eating decently._ I paused as I poured the coffee.

"God, I'm acting like their mother. What has the world come to?"

I grabbed the food and mugs, working my way out of the staff kitchen and towards where I'd been told the lab was. When I showed up though, I was a little displeased. Tony had just prodded Bruce with a small electric wire and Steve had stormed in rather ferociously.

"Are you nuts?" Steve snapped.

"Jury's out," Tony replied to him as he glanced at Bruce, who was resisting a small smile, surprisingly enough. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed? My girlfriend has a thing for exercise, is that it?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve bit out as I slowly made my way into the room unnoticed.

"Funny things are," Tony chirped.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, Doc."

"I-It's all right. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut," Tony hummed, having spotted me and heading over.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark."

"Steve," I said with a sharp tone, drawing his gaze to me in surprise.

"Jess."

"Relax," I pressed, handing him a plate with some food. "Honestly, if there's one thing I know about all you superhero types since I've gotten to know Tony, it's that you don't know how to relax."

"Hey, I know how to relax," Tony argued, and I didn't even look at him.

"Two years ago."

He hesitated. "I was dying. That doesn't count."

"And the year before that."

He went to argue but then nodded, taking a sandwich wrap. "All right. You've got me there."

Steve didn't look convinced and I sighed.

"I'm not saying forget the problem isn't there. I'm just saying that stressing yourself about it isn't going to get it solved. Tony handles stress with jokes and quips. I handle it with extensive exercise and alcohol on occasion. You might handle it differently just as Bruce handles it differently. But no matter _how_ we handle our stress, it won't distract us from what's important."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"No," I argued, a bit harsher than I really intended. "It's not me you should be apologizing to."

Steve winced but glanced at Tony, who folded his arms with a smirk. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted."

I sighed. "I didn't quite mean him either. He honestly deserved a little scolding for being childish."

"Again, with the insults," Tony grumbled, sticking a strawberry on a toothpick in his mouth.

I nodded towards Bruce when Steve gave me a confused look though.

"But—"

"But nothing. We're all in this ship working together. Just because his power is different from yours doesn't mean you get to say things like that."

"It's fine, Jess. Really," Bruce tried. "I'm used to it."

I frowned at him. "And you shouldn't have to be used to it. No one should get used to abuse like that, no matter who it's from or how accurate or inaccurate it might be." I whipped back around to Steve. "You might not be friends and I don't expect you to act like friends, but I do expect you to respect one another. I shouldn't have to babysit a bunch of grown adults who are too caught up in being superpowered to remember that they are just as _human_ as the rest of us. Words still hurt, _Captain._"

He winced at the title as I turned away from him and tried to relax as I cracked a small smile at Bruce.

"I brought sandwich wraps and other things. Wasn't sure what you liked, so there's turkey, spicy tuna, and vegetarian. All labeled." I glanced at Tony, who jerked straight. "I'll be at the gym. Natasha said she'd spar with me. Coffee's on the table."

"Righto," he said around a mouthful of food, making me roll my eyes as I went to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you for not making it worse," I murmured to him softly, earning a small smirk.

"See? Told you I can do this."

_Not that I don't believe him, but… it __**is**__ Tony,_ I mused, waving to the group as I headed out. _Only the first day and I'm already at the point where I'm going to strangle someone. And I half expected it to be Tony himself._

* * *

Tony leaned back, eyeing Jess as she left before looking at Steve.

"Now you've done it."

"Done what?"

Even Bruce gave him a look. "You… really don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"Oh, Star-Spangled-Smarty-Pants didn't see what he just did. Even the Green Guy gets it," Tony sighed, offering Bruce a plate that the man gratefully took.

"What? What did I do?" Steve pressed and Tony pointed his sandwich wrap at the door.

"You've upset her."

Steve frowned. "Jess? Well, I hadn't meant to."

"But you did," Bruce added, holding his hands up in surrender when Steve frowned at him.

"Look. I hadn't meant any harm by what I said, I was just—"

"Venting?" Tony offered with a raised brow. "You know she's right."

"Right about what? Getting along?"

"That, and you needing to relax."

"I _am_ relaxed."

"Eh, not quite. Seem a bit uptight to me. What do you think, Doc?"

Bruce grimaced. "I just want to work."

"Oh, come on. She wants us to get along, yeah? So, truce." Tony stuck out his hand towards Steve, who hesitated.

"A truce? Just because she got a little upset?"

Tony snorted. "Trust me. You really don't want her on your bad side."

"If she can handle you, I think I know that much."

"Well, it's a bit more than that," Tony said as Steve grasped his hand and he held it tight. "You owe her an apology too."

Steve nodded, making to pull back, but Tony didn't let go, actually holding tighter. "Wha—"

"I don't think you understand, _Captain,_" Tony pressed.

"Understand what? I know I upset her. That's why we're having a truce, isn't it?"

"I think you did more than that," Bruce muttered.

Steve looked between them confused and Tony frowned, restraining his anger as much as he could.

"You don't know anything about her."

"No. They didn't give us her files."

"Doesn't matter," Tony argued. "You don't get to say things like that to her, do you understand? You don't get to act like abuse is something you can just brush off with a simple apology. You don't get to brush her off, got it?"

Steve finally jerked his hand out of Tony's still a bit confused at the sudden anger, but Bruce gave the angered man a small sad look.

"Who was it?" He asked softly as Tony turned back to the food that had been left for them.

"Who?" Steve began to question before Tony responded.

"Her father," he muttered, picking up his sandwich wrap and finishing it.

"I'm sorry," Bruce murmured.

"Ask her if you want to hear more," Tony replied, giving Steve one last bitter look. "And be careful what you say. She might not act like it, but you heard her. Words still hurt, Captain."

Steve slowly nodded, starting to feel a little guilty now that the dots were coming together. His gaze shifted over to Bruce then, as the man picked up a piece of watermelon on a toothpick and twirled it between his fingers.

"I'm sorry, Doc."

Bruce cracked a slight smile, lifting the fruit briefly. "Like he said. Truce."

Steve managed a smile in return, before Tony clapped his hands together.

"Right! Now that we're all talking again, let's get back to the problem at hand. Why did Fury call us in?" He asked, aiming his question to Steve. "Why _now_? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

Steve grew serious. "You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's 'the' spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging Jess and it's bugging him too, isn't it?" Tony asked, looking to Bruce.

Bruce looked up. "Uh, I just want to finish my work here and…"

"Doctor?" Steve questioned, sensing that the man was hesitating on agreeing with Tony.

Bruce took a second, removing his glasses. "'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

"I heard it."

"Well, I think that was meant for you," Bruce explained, pointing at Tony as the man offered him more fruit that he took. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower?" Steve questioned. "That big, ugly—" He paused at Tony's look. "…building in New York?"

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source," Bruce clarified. "That building will run itself for, what? A year?"

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now," he informed Steve. "That's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce helped Steve see what they were getting at.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files," Tony mused, pulling out a handheld holographic pad to check his progress.

"I'm sorry, did you say—"

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony cut Steve off. "In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?" He offered Steve, who frowned.

"Yet, you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome. And if it makes you feel any better, it was Jess's idea."

"What?"

Even Bruce was surprised. "No way."

Tony smirked. "Yes, way. You'd think I'd get together with just anyone?"

Steve went to say something, but Tony pointed at him.

"No. Don't answer that. What I'm saying is that Jess has had her suspicions about this whole group since they first stuck Coulson on us. If I'm being honest, it's _her_ who's been the one looking into them every chance she gets. I honestly think it's to procrastinate on her classwork at MIT, but she _insists_ it's just because she's got a bad feeling about them." He looked to Bruce. "Is there such a thing as someone's personal insight being ridiculously accurate? I mean, between my ex-vice president who tried to take over my company by force, my rival who tried to use my technology to help a Russian maniac and this place? That's three for three."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up," Steve cut in. "This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Following's not really my style," Tony huffed, giving him a look. "And don't think for a second that Jess is going to. She's nosier and more rebellious than I am."

"And you're all about style, aren't you?"

"Of the people in this room, which one is: A, wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?"

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you," Bruce emphasized, trying to keep the two from fighting with Jess already upset about them.

"Just find the cube," Steve said shortly, storming from the room.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" Tony huffed. "I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice."

"Huh," Bruce chuckled shortly, working on his readings. "The guy's not wrong about Loki. He does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an Acme dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face. And I'm going to be there when it does."

"Yeah. I'll read all about it," Bruce hummed, sliding him a chart he'd finished to look over.

Tony paused. "What if we sicked Jess on him? Hm?"

Bruce chuckled, giving him a look over his shoulder. "You'd really subject her to that?"

"Honestly? I think she'd enjoy it. Him? Not so much."

Bruce shook his head. "You really picked one, didn't you?"

"Don't I know it. And you don't think you'll be suiting up with the rest of us?"

Bruce chuckled bitterly. "You see, I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed like a nerve. It's a nightmare."

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it." Tony tapped his chest piece, heading over. "This little circle of light, it's part of me now. Not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

"But you can control it."

"Because I learned how."

"It's different," Bruce argued.

"Hey, I read all about your accident," Tony pressed, sliding away Bruce's work so the man would look at him through the holographic screen. "That much gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So, you're saying that the Hulk… The other guy saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?"

"You should ask Jess, really. She's better at this than I am, but I guess we'll find out."

"You may not enjoy that."

"And you just might," Tony challenged.

* * *

_She's late._ I tapped my foot impatiently, hands wrapped for a spar but no sparring patterner in sight.

"And I could really do with a spar right about now," I grumbled, leaving the gym and passing a few agents who were wise to get out of my way as I headed for the bridge. "I swear, if Fury interrupted my spar with some stupid nonsense…"

I stepped out and spotted the eye-patched man himself heading for Thor as he spoke with Coulson.

"In my youth, I courted war," the Norse God murmured as Fury cut in.

"War hasn't started yet. You think you could make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?"

"I do not know. Loki's mind is far afield. It's not just power he craves, it's vengeance, upon me. There's no pain would pries his need from him."

"A lot of guys think that until the pain starts," Fury mused, stepping down the stairs as I rolled my eyes and moved closer myself.

_Men. Honestly. What happened to good old-fashioned talking?_

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked.

"I'm asking, what are you _prepared_ to do?"

"Loki is a prisoner."

"Then, why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?"

"I'll talk to him."

The group looked to me.

"What?" Fury questioned with a frown.

"You heard me," I huffed, folding my arms on the railing and looking down on him. "You want someone to talk to Loki, let me do it."

"I really don't think that wise, Miss Norris."

I rolled my eyes at Thor. "Yeah, listen, Thor. See, I'm supposed to be sparing with Natasha right now, letting off some steam. _Instead_, I've just stopped a fight breaking out between Tony and Steve, had someone prod at old wounds, _and_ send my sparing partner off to probably talk to Loki herself. So, shut up and listen for a second, okay?"

Thor seemed a little startled, but I didn't give any of the men a chance to rebuttal.

"Let me talk to him. No pain, no torture or whatever other nonsense you lot had planned to pry information out of him. Despite what you might think, _Fury_, that's not always the easiest way to work out information. In fact, it's the easiest way to get _false_ information. Information meant to make you think he's trying one thing, but actually doing another. All of you are looking at the wrong side of him. He's not just the God of Chaos, but the God of Mischief. He's a trickster. He uses his words to trick you into doing what he wants without you knowing. He's a fucking lawyer, for God's sake!"

Fury frowned. "And you're suggesting putting yourself up against him? Need I remind you, you're only here—"

"To babysit Tony? Yeah, tired of that. I might very well be stuck the rest of my life doing that, thanks. And as much as I enjoy doing that for _my_ sake, I also very much enjoy living on a planet _not_ thrown into chaos by a man who thinks he knows what's right just because he's got a bit of power. And I'm not talking about fucking Loki." I stepped down to Fury's level, eyes blazing. "I might be a civilian, but don't you _dare_ think I'm incapable of keeping the people I care about safe, even if it means going against you."

His eyes blazed fiercely at me, but he finally gave in. "Fine. Agent Romanoff should be nearly done, but if not, you have your chance."

I huffed, turning away and flicking him off, missing Thor's comment.

"I have never met so fierce a woman in my life."

I made it down to where Loki's cage was and spotted Natasha easily enough. I didn't interrupt though, not just yet, wanting to see how things were going before I could make a judgement call. I needed to know my opponent a bit more before I myself could act.

"Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

"Regimes fall every day," Natasha replied without remorse. "I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian. Or, I was."

"And what are you now?" Loki questioned her, though I could feel tension rising.

"It's really not that complicated. I got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out."

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter, São Paulo, the hospital fire?"

I didn't understand those references, but I didn't have to. It was obvious to me what he was doing. _Mind games. He knows personal information, either from the agent they have or some sort of mind trick. I'll have to confer with Thor to find out what he's capable of as far as abilities go. The myths can only help me so much._

"Your ledger is dripping. It's gushing red and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you, and they will never go away." Loki snapped, beginning to shout as he stood and approached the glass, banging on it to startle Natasha. "I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work and when he screams, I'll split his skull. This is my bargain, you mewling quim."

Natasha had turned away with a sniffle, but I wasn't convinced. I knew better than to trust her acts. The real question was, did Loki?

"You're a monster," Natasha breathed, making him chuckle.

"Oh, no. You brought the monster."

Natasha turned around then, eyes completely dry. "So, Banner. That's your play."

"What?" Loki questioned as my eyes narrowed, searching for any hint of falsity to his surprise as Natasha spoke into her comm.

"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab. I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." Natasha paused at the door, giving Loki one last look. "Thank you, for your cooperation."

She stepped out and I waited a moment, watching as Loki sat back down in his cage, before his gaze snapped to me. I gave him a little wave, not bothered by his stare.

"You," he hummed, getting up and approaching the glass again with a curious tilt of his head. "The almost interesting one."

"Oh, I get an almost compliment? How nice," I mused as he gave the door a quick glance.

"Not going after her?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I know she can handle herself. The question is, did you know that?"

He eyed me as I moved down the stairs to the lower level. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if you want me to explain it… You either didn't know how disciplined she was and are genuinely surprised she tricked you into giving away your plan, or you _knew_ and used words to trick her into going upstairs and confronting Bruce. My assumption is the later."

He smirked dangerously, moving ever closer to the glass that was only about a foot away from me. "You think you can read me so easily? A simple civilian? The boring lawyer girlfriend of the man in the iron suit?"

I raised a brow. "You think you can bother me with just words? Especially things I already know? And as for reading you, not even close. I'm not stupid. You're not human. I can't begin to even relate your thought process to how humans think. I can only guess based on what I've experienced in my field with humans who also like to twist words around. So, yeah. I'm a nobody, boring civilian with no idea what you're thinking. What I _do_ know, is how _humans_ think."

"What's your point?" He snarled.

"My point is, you don't know anything about me other than what you just said. This works in my favor in more than one way. One." I held up a finger. "You can poke at old wounds, as little as that would upset me. Still, it's nice. Two." A second finger went up. "It shows your abilities can't skim through people's minds without physical contact, making me safe so long as you're behind that glass. Which isn't entirely comforting, but I'll get over it. It proves you don't know me or what I'm capable of. And three. I may not know what your plan is, but I know how humans will react to things. I know that Bruce will get defensive when Natasha goes up there to try and isolate him based on what his other side has done. I know Steve and Tony are already butting heads based off their little spat I stopped a moment ago and can easily start another. And I know Fury won't be pleased that I had Tony start hacking into the security of their system to reveal whatever side project he's hiding. My guess is weapons because that's all people with power seem to want to do these days."

Loki said nothing and gave away no expression on his face, which I was happy to point out.

"And _that,_ says I'm right about everything I just said. For whatever reason, people always think forcing a neutral expression won't give away whether what I said is right or wrong, but it always proves their hiding their emotions, which typically means I'm right because if I wasn't, they'd be flaunting how wrong I am." I turned for the door and paused. "Oh, and don't think I don't realize what this all means. Honestly, they should have sent me in here from the start. Internal fighting is always going to be the death of us, and they're going to be pissed when they realize it was all just a distraction."

Needless to say, Loki didn't look pleased when I walked out, making a beeline for the lab. _And if I'm lucky, I'll make it in time to stop this mess._


	11. Chapter 11

Natasha stepped into the lab which was already in disarray due to Fury arguing with Tony, Bruce, and Steve. Sensing the tension, she looked immediately to Bruce, knowing that he was what Loki wanted.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce questioned her.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed."

"Loki is manipulating you," Natasha pressed.

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." Bruce grabbed his screen. "I want to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him," Fury said, pointing at a confused Thor.

"Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor argued.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled," He emphasized, glancing at Tony who bristled.

"Like you control the cube?" Steve challenged.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Thor explained. "It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve questioned.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something," Fury argued.

"A nuclear deterrent," Tony scoffed. "Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark."

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck-deep—" Steve added.

"Wait, wait. Hold on. How is this now about me?" Tony cut him off, offended.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor grumbled.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury snapped.

The group all began bickering just as Jess hurried in, a hand on her head in pain. A ringing had started up in the back of her mind that ached, but her attention was now focused on the group of arguing people.

"Enough!" She finally shouted, making the room go silent as she stepped in. "Are you lot really going to let him get to you that easily?"

"Excuse me?" Fury questioned.

"I was in there just now with him, and if any of you had let me talk to him first, then you would understand a bit more of what's going on right now."

"Hold on. You _spoke_ with Loki?" Tony gaped, turning to Fury, only for Jess to step into the center of the circle of people.

"Shut up. _Now_. And just listen for a minute."

He hesitated but knew better than to not let Jess finish what she wanted to say.

"Now, Loki is manipulating you all with words. This right here? This infighting? It's what he wants."

"He told me he wanted the Hulk," Natasha mentioned, and Jess shook her head.

"He wanted you to _think_ he wanted the Hulk, so you'd come up here and put Bruce on the defensive. He already gets enough crap from you lot about being some dangerous green thing, so you coming in and suddenly demanding he leave from a slightly tense conversation proves you don't trust him. And if you've ever been on the other side of that, then you know you'd get defensive too, which doesn't _help_." Jess's glare surprisingly silenced Natasha. "Now, problem number two. You, Fury, are hiding what I assume is a plan to make weapons with this Tesseract thing, right?"

"Yes," Tony interjected, and Jess lifted a hand his way.

"I told you to shut up."

He pursed his lips, but went silent, giving Fury a chance to speak.

"Yes, but only because Thor—"

"Happened to stumble upon a planet and caused a ruckus? Yeah, getting that. Thing is, when has that ever helped? Europeans stumble into America and meet Native Americans. They get worried about the Natives and bring weapons to protect themselves, which eventually turns into a war that neither side had to have. Now, you want to do the same with Earth and the rest of the _universe_? Yes, there are apparently aliens out there with better technology than us. So, why are you so determined to pick a fight with them? We're so behind them technology-wise, it'd be stupid for them to try and invade our planet anyway. It's like Tony fighting a bunch of homeless people. It's stupid, pointless, and asking for baseless death. Next, Steve."

"Me?" Steve questioned and Jess shook her head.

"Oh, don't get me started. I understand you're behind the times and you're a soldier. And I get that. My parents were soldiers and I've seen what it can do to people. The thing is, you need to take some time to think for yourself. Stop with the following orders and look beyond what's been placed in front of you. Better yet? Realize not everything has to come down to war and fighting. You and Tony could be damn amazing if you just got along enough to work together instead of bickering over petty things. Tony has a big head and yes, he's narcissistic, but if you look past that for one damn minute, you can see that he's not the same man who was building weapons years ago. You can see that he's actually willing to risk himself for _more_ than just himself. So, do something smart. Get your head out of the past and try to look forward and in return, you'd be damn surprised how civil Tony can be. And Tony, you better try or we're going to have a problem."

"Yes, ma'am," Tony muttered.

"And Thor."

Thor straightened, but more out of concern than making himself appear threatening. Jess was rather intimidating from his perspective.

"You are a myth from our legends. And we don't quite understand what that means when you're physically here. You might be immortal, you might not. You obviously have abilities that we don't understand, but that doesn't make you any better than us. You're not allowed to look down on the people of Earth just because your technology is better, or you have superpowers or whatever—and that goes for the lot of you. Do you look down on children because they don't understand the world and you do? No, you damn well teach them, which is what _you_ should be doing, Thor. Teaching us better ways to do things. Ways to avoid conflicts with your people and the rest of the universe because we obviously don't know how, if Fury's little weapons project wasn't proof enough."

Jess eyed the group before landing on the one person she hadn't spoken to directly.

"And Bruce, you're a good guy. It's obvious. You didn't want to be here because you're afraid you're going to hurt someone but let me tell you something. You need to stop being so afraid of him and just accept that he _is_ you. And I'm not saying it'll be easy. I'm not saying either of you will take it well at first, but you're stuck with each other for now, just like I'm stuck with Tony."

Tony was smart and didn't argue at the moment.

"And if we're going to work together to deal with Loki, then we need everyone on the same page, doing the same things, and having confidence in themselves and in each other, otherwise this mess is never going to work. And as much as you're going to hate it, it means you need to come to terms with what happened to you and start working on an agreement between you and _yourself_. Figure out what you want from him and what he wants from you. And if you need a safe space to do that, ask Fury for a nice empty space that won't make him feel trapped and won't make you feel worried." Jess turned to Fury and Natasha then. "And that means you and your lot need to stop making him feel like he's a ticking time bomb. Get rid of the cage we're keeping Loki in. Stop making up protocols just for him. Stop acting like he's going to hurt anyone and treat him like a damn human being like all the rest of us. Because honestly? He's not the biggest threat to me right now in this room. I have no abilities, not superpowers or strength. I don't have any special training. I'm about as civilian as you can get and I'm less afraid of him than the rest of you. Why? Because he has better control over his temper than you lot. So, can we _please_ stop giving Loki what he wants by fighting and just—"

Tony was quick to step forward when she doubled over, grabbing at her head. "Jess? Jess, what is it?"

"Am I seriously the only one hearing that ringing?"

"Ringing? What ringing?"

Natasha reached for her gun. "Has she been taken over by Loki too?"

Jess glared. "Don't be stupid. You need physical contact, otherwise, we'd all be having issues right now." She shook her head then, trying to rid herself of the painful ringing in her head. "No. It's something else. Something—"

Fury unlatched his gun as well, eyes drifting towards her. "Miss Norris put down the scepter."

Jess looked down, realizing she'd picked up the staff at some point, but not sure when.

"Jess?" Tony murmured when she didn't move, and her eyes widened.

"It's this," she breathed, looking to him. "The ringing is from this. I-It's feeding off the energy in the room. It's messing with us."

"Just put it down, Jess," Steve said calmly, and she slowly put it back on its stand, giving the others a chance to relax before a beeping went off and all eyes went to the scanner that had been locating the Tesseract.

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor questioned as Bruce moved over to check it with Natasha and Jess following.

"I could get there the fastest," Tony offered.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it," Thor argued, and Jess shot them a look.

"Oi, I said no fighting. Let's just collect it first and figure out what to do with it afterward, shall we?"

"You're not going alone," Steve stopped Tony, who slapped his arm off.

"You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit, let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

Jess brought her hand back to her head. "Guy, please. You two can have a spar to settle these grudges _after_ we get this thing."

"Oh my God," Bruce breathed before there was an explosion and the group was thrown in different directions.

* * *

I shifted with a groan, ears ringing for an entirely different reason as something on top of me moved.

"—ess. Jess!"

I winced at the person lightly patting my face, cracking open my eyes and coughing only to grimace at the pain the action sent through me.

"Try not to breathe too deeply. I don't know how hurt you are," Natasha said, wincing herself as she struggled to pull her ankle out from the piping on top of us.

While her leg was pinned between two pipes, the larger pipe was lying across my back, pushing me into the grating and making it hard to breathe.

"W-What happened?"

"Something blew up one of the engines."

I groaned. "Loki. I was trying to tell you lot. He wanted us fighting… a-as a distraction." I tried to slide myself out from under the piping but didn't budge. "I-I can't move."

Natasha reached up to her earpiece. "We're okay," she informed Fury, probably only for the both of us to look at Bruce as he grunted. "We're okay, right?"

"Oh, boy," I murmured.

"Doctor?" Natasha tried, seeing now that we were in a bit more of a situation than previously expected. "Bruce, you've got to fight it. This is just what Loki wants."

"Oh, shut up about Loki for a minute," I hissed at her. "Can you get out from under these pipes?"

"I need some time."

"I'll try to lift it."

"Jess, you can't—"

"Don't care," I growled, bearing through the pain as I tried to push myself up onto my elbows and lift the heavy piping.

"Can't you call your suit?" She argued.

I shot her a look. "We were supposed to go sparring. I took off my watch."

"Jess—"

"Well, maybe next time you won't be late!" I snipped shortly as two men started rushing over.

"Are you hurt?"

Natasha hastily waved them off and they rushed out as I turned to Bruce.

"Bruce, you okay there, buddy? I-I know things are a bit scary right now, but we'll be okay. I swear."

Natasha agreed. "I swear on my life, I will get you out of this. You will walk away and never ever—"

"Your life!" Bruce snapped in a monstrous tone.

Natasha finally managed to slip out from the piping but didn't move, staring in shock as Bruce twisted on the ground, body growing.

"Not hers then!" I called out, sinking back to the ground with a cringe at the weight pushing me down. "What about mine then, Bruce? B-Because I get it. You can't trust them. They've always been looking down on you like you're dangerous and going to hurt them, but I won't. I never will!"

"You will!" He shouted in return, stumbling off the area we were and hitting the ground below, changing even more.

His shirt tore and his muscles bulged, skin tinting green before he wobbled onto his feet and roared in frustration. Natasha looked to me, making to try and lift the piping, but I waved her off.

"No, just go."

"I can't leave you. Tony—"

"Tony will get the hell over it because nothing's going to happen," I argued. "But you can't be here. He doesn't trust you. Leave, but don't run. Don't make it obvious. Be quiet and stealthy about it so he won't go after you."

She nodded, taking two steps away, but it was too late. Bruce had fully transformed into the Hulk and he'd turned just in time to spot her making for the stairs. He snarled, letting out a roar and she ran, making me curse under my breath.

"Idiot, I told you _not_ to run!"

"You'd rather he kill me?" She shouted back as the Hulk grabbed the bottom half of the stairs and threw them aside.

"He's still Bruce! He won't kill you!"

"You don't know that!"

The Hulk was ripping away ceiling panels as Natasha ran away and things went quiet. Or, relatively. I tried again to push the piping off me, only to freeze when loud, thundering footsteps approached. I swallowed thickly, forcing myself to push back the fear my body instinctively held as the Hulk towered over me.

"B-Bruce, you've got to help me out," I muttered, looking up and trying to reason with the man who was tucked away behind the angered Hulk.

His lips curled in a snarl as he growled and I winced, glancing away briefly as I fought to try and get out from under the piping.

"Come on, Bruce. I know you're still in there and if you're taking a backseat, that's fine. I can talk to you, big guy," I said, glancing at the green giant with a grimace of a smile. "B-Because you're a nice guy too, right?"

The Hulk roared, throwing his arm out to the side and breaking some more piping, but I refused to turn away in fear. It would only make things worse.

"S-See? You could have hurt me just now, but you didn't because I'm not a threat a-and you're just trying to keep Bruce safe, right?"

He growled again, moving closer as my heart raced.

"T-Thank you," I murmured, making the man pause as I managed a wobbling smile. "For keeping him safe. I haven't known him for long, but B-Bruce is a really good guy. A-And you might come off as scary to a lot of people, but… but I've met a real monster."

I struggled to push away images of my father attacking me. Trips to the hospital where I couldn't tell anyone what happened as my father spread more and more lies. The bruises and burns and scars.

"I lived with a real monster for a long time a-and you're nothing like him," I murmured, trying to get him to see. "So, w-what I'm trying to say is… I'm not afraid of you, Bruce. Green or not."

The Hulk reached out for me, but there was a warmness to his gaze that hadn't been there before. A hint of Bruce that had managed to pull forward. Then, it was gone as Thor tacked him across the room and into the airplane hangar.

"No!" I shouted, struggling to get out from under the pipes, only to let out a soft cry of pain.

The Hulk had been trying to lift the pipes before and when he was tackled, they'd fallen back over me and shifted, putting even more weight on my back. Natasha rushed over, waving a few of the workers to help get the pipes off me as I snapped at her.

"W-Why? He was just trying to help me!"

"We couldn't be sure of that."

"_I_ could!" I spat finally getting pulled out from under the piping, and I tried to get up, only for Natasha to stop me.

"We don't know how hurt you are. You probably shouldn't be moving."

"I'm _fine_," I said shortly, pushing her off me and wincing with an arm wrapped around my torso. "Winded a-and I think my back and ribs are bruised, but we need to move. If Loki sent people here—"

"Clint's probably with them."

"More than that, they're going to get him out."

Natasha looked at me. "I'll go after Clint. They won't be able to handle him on their own."

"Tony's probably fixing the engine. Fury should be on the main deck trying to keep everyone together," I rattled off, glancing at the hole in the wall. "Thor's dealing with Bruce, and Steve might be helping Tony too. There's no one to deal with Loki, so I'll go."

"Jess, you can't stop him."

"Maybe not, but I can at least stop others from getting hurt trying," I bit out, cringing as I straightened my aching back. "I can at least seal the room off. Prevent people from getting in or out. If anyone goes in there with a gun, they're dead. And if I'm lucky, Thor will be so preoccupied with Bruce that he won't go trying to stop his brother." I groaned. "I _hate_ when personal emotions get in the way of working."

Natasha raised a brow. "Really?"

"No, not really, but you have to agree, now isn't really the time for the two to have a brotherly spat."

"Do you know the codes?"

I nodded, smirking. "I _was_ the one who got Tony into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system, you know. Honestly, you all don't give me enough credit."

"Be careful," she muttered as I made for the door.

"You too."

I hurried to the containment room as quickly as I could, only for the ship to start tipping and the lurching in my stomach making me swallow thickly.

"Oh, I _hate _falling," I murmured, reaching the containment room and quickly working the keypad for the door as I spotted Loki's cage beginning to open. "Shit, shit, shit. Come on door, work faster!"

Footsteps approached and I groaned.

"Thor now is _really_ not the time—"

"My brother is escaping," he argued.

"And he _won't_ if I can just get this door—"

"No need," he growled, charging into the room as I abandoned the controls to try and stop him.

"Thor! Don't be stupid! He'll just—" My shout fell on deaf ears as Thor charged at Loki, only for the man to faze right through him, landing in the cage himself. "—trick you."

The cage doors closed with Thor inside and Loki on the outside, and I went to try and get to the main controls for the cage only to freeze and slowly lift my hands in the air. A soldier was aiming his gun at me and Loki's scepter point was being pressed lightly against my back.

"Now, now, my dear. Let's not be so hasty," Loki purred, giving Thor a smirk. "Are you ever _not_ going to fall for that?"

Thor slammed his hammer against the glass, and I jerked, freezing once more when Loki's scepter pressed a little harder against my spine. Thor's powerful hit had cracked the glass sure, but it had also loosened one of the clamps holding the cage.

"The humans think us immortal," Loki smirked, nudging me lightly towards the controls. "Should we test that? Jess, was it? Drop the cage."

I swallowed thickly, not moving.

"I _said_, drop the cage," Loki snarled, making me wince as his scepter's point dug into the small of my back.

The soldier then, grunted, falling over as Coulson stood with a gun aimed at Loki.

"Move away please."

"Coulson," I spat, feeling concern growing in me. "What the hell are you doing? Get _out_ of here."

"Sorry, Jess. No can do. We can't let Loki get away and believe it or not, but it is also my job to protect you."

"Because I'm dating Tony?" I questioned with a groan. "First off, great. Good to know I can't even be trusted to protect myself. And second, I don't care. You need to get the hell out of here _now._ It's no time to be heroic. He'll kill you if you threaten him."

"And he won't kill you?" Coulson argued as I grit my teeth.

"I'd like to pretend he wouldn't, but if you could just get outside, seal the room, the controls then he can't get out. One person's death is worth saving the world, dammit."

"Exactly," he said, taking a step forward and I resisted the urge to step forward myself to strangle the man

"That's not what I meant, and you know it, you idiot."

"Sorry, Jess, but I'm not under any obligation to listen to you."

"And I'm going to have a long talk with your boss about that," I muttered, trying to think of some way to get us all out of this mess and coming up with nothing.

"You like this?" Coulson asked Loki, who eyed him cautiously from behind me. "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does."

"And you'll really regret not getting out of here if it just blows bubbles or some shit, Coulson. Just go!" I shouted, only to grimace when Loki's arm came around my throat and his scepter pressed dangerously against my spine, drawing blood.

Coulson charged up the weapon. "Let her go."

"All right."

The pressure was gone, and I barely had time to blink before Loki was behind Coulson with his scepter through the man's gut.

"No!" Thor and I shouted, myself starting to rush forward only for Loki to grab me again.

"Coulson! Coulson, you idiot! I-I told you to go!" I cried out, struggling against Loki to try and get to the man in the hopes of helping to stop the bleeding and potentially save him.

Loki raised his scepter to my neck. "Now, now, behave and do as you're told and maybe I'll spare him."

I gave Thor a glance knowing that Loki wouldn't bother trying to save Coulson and this was undoubtedly a trick to get me to do as he wanted, but there was still a chance, as small as it was. Thor knew this and nodded, accepting his fate, because if I didn't, then Loki would and any possible chance of saving Coulson would be dashed. So, I slowly reached out to the control panel and Loki pulled his scepter away.

"There you go," he purred, breath hot against my ear.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, giving Thor one last look and the man managed a small smile.

He forgave me. And then, the clamps were released and down he fell. I clenched my eyes shut, breathing hard through my nose and fighting the urge to either cry or whip around and strangle the cackling God behind me. Instead, I took that opportunity to rush to Coulson's side and press my hands firmly against his injury, earning a grimace. Dying as he was, he still wouldn't shut up.

"You're going to lose," he told Loki, who glanced at the two of us.

"Am I?"

"It's in your nature," Coulson breathed out as I clenched my teeth to keep silent myself and not make things worse for us.

"Your heroes are scattered. Your floating fortress falls from the sky. Where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack conviction."

For a moment, I saw angry bitterness pass over Loki's face, an unexpected honest emotion from the man who only seemed to know how to show cruelty.

"I don't think I'm—"

I jerked as the gun in Coulson's lap went off, hitting Loki in the chest and into the next room.

"C-Coulson?" I questioned, rather surprised by the bold move.

"So, that's what it does," he murmured.

"God, you, you big idiot," I stuttered out, helping him to lie down and keeping pressure on his injury, but it just continued to pour blood out from between my fingers. "Why didn't you run?"

"I couldn't leave you."

"D-Don't. Don't you dare," I croaked, tears starting to well up. "I-I don't want you to die because of _me_. This is God damn Tony's job. Protecting me is _his_ job, not, not yours."

His blurry gaze met mine. "He told me to keep you safe. I owed it to him to try."

"Try!" I shouted, tears finally falling. "Try, n-not, not _die_. Why do you all keep doing this? I'm nobody, dammit. I'm not super-powered or special. I-I'm just a damn lawyer, so why do you and Tony and everyone else keep trying to save me?"

Coulson scoffed, blood slipping out from between his lips. "N-Now who's the idiot? Y-You're an amazing woman, J-Jess, and Tony i-is a very lucky guy."

"S-Shut up," I muttered, wishing I could just do something to help him. "D-Don't talk like that. L-Like you're…"

I couldn't say it, but he knew and gave me a soft smile.

"Keep them together for me, yeah?"

I nodded, hearing footsteps approaching and workers calling for medical help before Fury crouched down beside us.

"Sorry, boss," Coulson muttered as Fury moved the gun away. "The God rabbited."

"Just stay awake. Eyes on me," Fury commanded, but Coulson's head lolled towards the floor.

"No. I'm clocked out here."

"Not an option."

"It's okay, boss. This was never gonna work if they didn't have something to… to…"

I bowed my head with a choked sob as Coulson passed and the medical team arrived. Fury lightly pulled me up and away from him, keeping an arm across my shoulder as I spat watery curses under my breath.

"D-Dammit. He… T-This was all my fault. He wouldn't… H-He did this f-for me. H-He saved me b-because I couldn't do anything on my own. L-Loki… T-Thor… G-God f-fucking dammit." I pressed my hands to my face as Fury shook his head.

"No. None of this is your fault, Jess. No one could have predicted this, but you were close, and we didn't listen. And he always knew you were the smart one. You turned him away the first time you met and all he ever did after that was fight to convince me you were worth getting involved in this. Not because of how you handle Tony, but because of _you_. And it's about time I listened."


	12. Chapter 12

I jolted upright, breathing heavily as the glimpse of the glowing blue cube from my dream began to fade and someone placed their hands on my shoulders. My eyes shifted to Natasha, and I felt relief and guilt swim through me.

"What…"

"You passed out on the way to get looked at," she muttered, helping me sit up slowly on the bed as I grimaced, feeling my back throb and my head ache. "Fury said for you to relax a bit while he spoke with the others." She hesitated before continuing. "Thor and Bruce are both gone. Loki escaped in a plane, but we got Clint back. Tony and the Captain are all right too and the plane's engine has been repaired."

"But Coulson's dead," I spat bitterly, before sagging slightly, running a hand through my hair. "He did it to protect me."

"Then, don't feel guilty about it," she pressed. "If he did it for you, then don't dishonor his sacrifice."

"There shouldn't have _been_ a sacrifice," I argued.

"But there was, and now more than ever, they need you." She sighed. "Jess, you're the only one who can keep them together, especially right now when everyone's scattered and the only two left are your boyfriend and someone he really doesn't like."

"Understatement of the century," I muttered, earning a small quirk of the lips from her.

"Do it for Coulson. He always said it was what you did best."

I sighed tiredly, but she had a point. Between what she just said and what Fury had told me, Coulson had always been rooting for me, despite how we butted heads all the time. And I felt terrible I hadn't noticed before. Now that I did though, I could work to be that person for him. I could wallow in my guilt later.

"Do we know where Loki went?"

Natasha shook her head, making sure I was stable on my feet before walking with me. "No. Not even Clint could remember. He said he never needed to know, so he wasn't told."

"And this Tesseract thing, it opens portals, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He'll need a big open space," I replied, mind racing. "But someplace isolated enough that him being there with it won't draw too much attention, but also will?" I groaned, rubbing at my head. "God _damn_ this headache."

Natasha frowned. "Did you get hit?"

I shook my head. "No, no. I… I think it has something to do with Loki's scepter thing. It's connected to the Tesseract somehow, isn't it? Hold on." I looked to her with a frown. "What's the Tesseract look like?"

"You don't know?"

"I didn't look at the files, remember? I just know its name, but I've been having these dreams lately, nightmares. I… I can't remember what happened in them other than the fact that there was some blue cube whispering to me."

Her eyes widened. "The Tesseract is a blue cube. Could it be communicating with you?"

"I don't fucking know, but whatever it is, it's giving me a headache and we need to get to it fast. My headaches were never this bad until more recently. Whatever Loki's doing—"

"It's happening today," she breathed, before nodding. "What do you need?"

"I need to get the others moving. I can't do anything on my own," I said, picking up my pace. "Tony's going to need tools to repair his suit, because I don't doubt that he broke it trying to fix the plane engines. We're going to need someone to fly a plane and we need to figure out where exactly Loki is."

"I can get you your computer."

I nodded. "There's a searching program already running on it. Have it search for places in wide open spaces. Anywhere someone can put down a machine with few questions, but out in the open where it can be visible by a lot of people. Loki's going to put on a show."

"On it. Where do I meet you?"

"The bridge, probably," I replied, heading for it as she turned to head another way. "I've got some men to knock some sense into."

And boy, did I. I had just gotten to the bridge to hear the tail-end of whatever guilty conversation Fury was spouting to Tony and Steve.

"The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could," Fury said, undoubtedly talking about the Avengers Initiative. "Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony stood up and I winced, knowing how he felt about heroes. And as he stormed out, I stepped in, giving Fury a small frown.

"You don't have to guilt-trip them."

Fury raised a brow. "Don't I?"

"If it's anyone's fault Coulson is dead, it's mine. I was there. I had plenty of opportunities to do something about it, but I didn't."

"Because you _couldn't_," he argued.

"So, why are you placing that blame on the people who _were_ doing something?" I snapped, blood boiling. "Tony and Steve were out there keeping this ship and everyone on it alive and in the air! They were doing the best they could given the situation! Everyone was! Putting Coulson's death on their shoulders may give them the push they need to work together and get moving, but they'll have to live with that the rest of their lives and you're more of an idiot than I thought if you think that's the right play to make, Fury."

"Then what do you suppose I do, Jess? Hm? _Talk?_ Because I've _been_ talking and nothing's changed, and now one of my best men are dead!"

"And more people are going to die if they're too weighed down by guilt to make rational decisions!" I shouted in return, standing directly in front of him and grabbing him by his coat collar, much to his shock. "So, do something smart for once. Shut up and listen, because I'm not going to repeat myself." I shoved him back and looked at a stunned Steve. "Coulson died because I wasn't able to do anything to stop it. It's something that happened and there's nothing anyone of us can do now to fix it. What we _can_ do, is stop Loki before more people get hurt. To do that, I need you and Tony working together. I don't _care_ how much he grates on your nerves. Stop acting like a child and grow up, because adults learn to deal with their problems _civilly_."

"Some," Fury interjected, earning a glare from me.

"Don't interrupt me. I've dealt with enough narcissistic, bigoted assholes to know that Tony isn't even _close_ to being on their level of a pain in the ass." I stepped towards Steve, poking him in the chest. "So, you better stop looking at how he acts and start realizing who he is as a person. Because I swear to _God,_ if I hear one more word out of your mouth about him being cold, unfeeling, or any other judgmental bullshit when you haven't taken the chance to look past his persona, then you're going to have a bigger problem on your hands than some Norse God trying to take over the world. Got it, Star-Spangled Moron?"

Steve got up with a frown. "I don't understand how you can see something so great in him. He doesn't even act like he cares."

"It's because, unlike you, I look _past_ what he shows. His bloody narcissistic personality, the heroic Iron Man acts, those Goddamn towers and cruel words are all a front. Just like your big, showy outfit and tough soldier appearance. They're all masks hiding the fact that you're hurting. That _he's_ hurting and angry and everything else, because he _liked_ Coulson. Because he _cares_ about people. He's grown in up a world where the moment you care about something, it gets taken away and people laugh in your face because of it. He was _dying_ last year, and you know what he did? He acted like a complete utter ass to everyone around him. Me, Pepper, his best friend, everyone. Why? Because he thought it'd be better if everyone hated him so when and if he died, _we_ wouldn't get hurt. And you have the gall to stand here and tell me he's uncaring? That he's not a hero or that he only cares about himself or is nothing without his suit? Because let me tell you something, _Captain_. Screw the suits, the super-strength, the big fancy flying ships, the money. If everyone in this room were stripped bare, who know what that would make us all? _Human._ So, get off your stupid, idealistic hero perch and realize that you're not as Goddamn special as you think and you're not above anyone, least of all him." I struggled to release the tension in my shoulders that made my back throb. "Coulson wouldn't have gone out of his way to save me on Tony's word if it meant nothing."

Steve eyed me for a moment longer before leaving the room, and Fury shot me a look.

"Was that really necessary?"

I sank into a chair with a cringe, shooting him a small glare. "You know it was."

Fury rolled his eyes. "You know, I think that if anyone's wearing a mask, it's you."

I stayed silent, not wanting to tell him how right he was.

"You made him angry with you to keep him from being angry with Stark. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"I don't need your psychiatric evaluation, Nick," I grumbled, giving Natasha a grateful nod when she brought over my computer and a steaming cup of coffee.

"He's right though," Natasha added, making me roll my eyes.

"Look—since you two are double-teaming on me—I would _love_ to get along with everyone, sure, but I know that won't happen. And right now, Steve is the one I have a problem with. If he can't see any good in Tony, then we _won't_ get along. Right now, I just want him to try looking a bit deeper and get along long enough to deal with our current situation. If that means he's upset with me, then so be it."

The two exchanged a look but I was quick to drop the conversation and dive back into my search for where Loki would be headed.

* * *

Steve stepped into the containment area where Tony was grinding his teeth and staring out into space. After hearing how much Jess cared about him, to the point that she would practically fight him over how he thought of Tony, Steve felt he should give him a chance. See for himself if Tony cared.

"Was he married?"

"No. There was a, uh, cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man," Steve said, catching a hint of what Jess meant before Tony snuffed it out with a scoff.

"He was an idiot."

"Why? For believing?" Steve argued.

"For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job."

"He was out of his league. He should have waited," Tony countered, heading over. "He should have…"

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

"Right. I've heard that before," Tony huffed, bristling himself.

"Is this the first time you lost a soldier?"

Tony whipped around in anger. "We are _not_ soldiers."

Steve remained calm and waited to see if Tony would press the issue after he'd accidentally prodded on a sensitive spot. Instead though, Tony looked away, calming down.

"I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I." _At least we agree on that. _"He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now, we've got to put that behind us and get this done. That much, Jess was right about."

Tony grimaced. "She heard then, I'm guessing."

Steve nodded. "And rightly scolded Fury as well. I… I don't think I've seen someone so ready to stand up to him, much less for people like us."

Tony chuckled. "That's her. A spitfire, if there ever was one."

Steve cracked a small smile as well, seeing that hint of caring Tony had towards the woman and understanding now, a bit of what Jess meant. His smile faltered though.

"She blames herself, you know."

Tony's gaze snapped to his, already understanding. "For Coulson."

Steve nodded. "He was protecting her. _She's_ the one who went down there alone."

"Nuh-uh. No way," Tony argued. "She may jump into things sometimes, but she's not that idiotic."

Steve shook his head. "Romanoff said she went to close the doors. Lock him in. She tried to convince her otherwise, but…"

"But she's stubborn, I know," Tony muttered, running a hand through his hair. "She teamed up with my AI to make her own suit, you know. Said she would support me being Iron Man, so long as she wasn't always the one stuck at home waiting to hear on the news what had happened."

"She's got a death sentence."

Tony shook his head, eyes sad. "She just wants to be useful. It's something her father—" Tony grimaced, stopping before he could give away anything more.

"Her father?"

"You'll have to ask her. Normally I'd just say, but it's… something personal."

Steve frowned. "You mentioned him before with her. Did something happen between them?"

"Oh, trust me. A lot happened. And I'm glad the bastard's dead because I might just go after him myself with what he's done." Tony rubbed at his eyes with a sigh, muttering under his breath. "I'm still picking up the pieces." He lifted his head, straightening his shoulders. "Where is she?"

"On the bridge, but we really need to figure this out, Tony. Now's not really the time for a heart-to-heart."

"You think I don't know that?" Tony scoffed, tapping on his watch. "Why do you think I want her here?"

Steve's brows furrowed. "I… don't know, honestly."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, her desperate need to be useful has made her a really valuable player in all of this. She was smart before I met her and has only improved on that. Knowing her, she's already working on something to help. That, and I need a sounding board."

"A what?"

"Sounding board. It's like a screen you put behind—Oh, never mind. I need someone to bounce ideas off of."

"And I'm not able to do that?"

"No offense, but Jess and I have it down to a science. And… done."

"Done? With what?"

Tony held up his hand, counting down from three just in time for Jess to barrel into the room with a laptop.

The woman looked between the two, panting to catch her breath from running there, before scowling.

"Hold on, this isn't fighting."

Tony beamed. "Nope! I lied to get you here faster."

"Oh, you're a right little—"

"Now, now, now," Tony stopped her, lifting his hands in peaceful surrender. "I just wanted us to talk. I'm assuming you've got some ideas about Loki?"

Jess glanced at Steve, as though confirming that neither men were upset with one another, before opening her laptop and typing on it with one hand. "I've been running the world through a search engine. Large open space where lots of people can see, but inconspicuous enough to put a machine there without too much interference."

"What?" Steve questioned, heading over to stand behind her with Tony and look at what she was doing.

"I'm assuming that Loki's mind control is limited to a certain number of people and that he won't want to kill hundreds just to put up a machine, of course. But it's narrowing down areas that he couldn't possibly be at."

"Well, Loki needs a power source," Steve tried, and Jess nodded.

"Something big enough to run the machine, so nothing minuscule. Adding power plants, electric companies, and other such things."

Tony's gaze drifted to the bloodstain on the wall from where Coulson had been. "He made it personal."

"That's not the point," Steve frowned.

"That _is_ the point," Tony said shortly. "That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart," Steve said, shaking his head slightly in confusion.

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great, but—"

Jess jumped in. "He knows already how to beat us. How to win."

Tony snapped his fingers at her. "Exactly. _That's_ what he wants. See?" He looked at Steve. "A science."

Steve rolled his eyes as Jess continued.

"But he's a show-off. He could have separated us anyway, but he purposely got himself caught. He flaunted where he was, got captured and brought here, and he didn't honestly have to. He could have done it remotely, sent one of his mind-controlled zombies to do it." She paused, giving Tony a look. "He wanted to watch. Wanted us to see _him_ tearing us apart. He's a damn narcissist!"

"He wants an audience," Tony confirmed, making Steve nod.

"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That was just the previews. This is, this is opening night and Loki, he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades."

Jess looked at her computer as it beeped, pinching her nose with a groan. "God, he wants a damn monument in the sky with his name one it."

"What?" Steve questioned before she turned the laptop around to show them the screen where a large building in New York stood tall with one name plastered across the front.

"And we practically built it for him."

Tony scowled. "Son of a bitch."

* * *

"Any word on Thor or Bruce?" Natasha asked me as I typed away on my computer in the plane.

"There's a sudden thunderstorm not far off that wasn't on the forecast until a moment ago."

"That's Thor," Steve hummed.

"And Bruce?" Natasha pressed.

"I'm not sure. Assuming they both fell not too far apart from one another, I'll check the surrounding area for anything strange. Building collapse, meteorite falling from the sky, things like that."

"No giant green man sightings?" Steve questioned, earning a glare as I typed.

"No, because he wouldn't still be the Hulk. He was removed from the situation that caused him to change. The Hulk just wants to keep Bruce safe, so once he landed, he would have changed back. The problem now is all the people."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "Honestly, you lot only think about the fight, don't you? Loki has just picked a tall building in the middle of the very populated New York City to open up a portal for an alien army to descend. Now, we're sending in a number of overpowered humans to deal with it and you don't think we're going to wreak some sort of havoc on the populous? There _will_ be civilian casualties, _but_ there doesn't have to be millions of them." I tapped my watch, getting a holographic image of Tony to pop up. "Did you get ahold of Rhodey?"

"_Took a bit of convincing to get him to believe me, but yeah. He sent the Army on its way_."

"And the message to Fury?"

"_Taken care of, though if he's upset about it, I'm blaming you_."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"What are you talking about?" Steve questioned. "You sent the Army?"

"Not exactly," I explained. "I had our friend in the military get the Army to start evacuations going from Stark Tower outward under the pretense of a bomb threat. The Army will keep the police out as well, limiting their casualties when they try to fight aliens with useless firearms."

"And Fury?" Natasha asked.

"Talking to the President, if I'm lucky," I muttered. "We _are_ evacuating the largest populated city in the US using the state's military and I'm sure the President will want to know what exactly is going on or at least how he should address the people who will start panicking when aliens come out of a portal in the sky."

"You… really do think of everything, don't you?" Steve muttered, and I huffed.

"Please. I just think of the little things. Tony is always looking at the big picture and hardly notices the small nuances. As a lawyer, all I _work_ with is the small stuff, the fine print, the clauses no one takes a second look at. This is just me applying that in a bigger way."

"_Told you she's clever_," Tony chirped, as I turned off the hologram.

"Yeah, thank you," I chimed sarcastically, closing my laptop and double-tapping my watch. "Open the door now, please."

"You can't go out there," Steve countered, stepping before me and I smiled sickly sweet.

"Let me guess because I'm a civilian?"

"Yes."

"That's cute," I chirped, holding out my hand.

His brows furrowed but he reached out to take it, only for my grip to tighten as I spun and threw him over my shoulder to the floor. Had he expected the move, he might have countered, but he underestimated me, and I knew he would.

"Now then," I smiled at him on the ground. "This is me. Leaving. Underestimate me again, and you really will regret it."

My suit came out of the backpack I'd brought with me, and I stepped out of the plane before taking off towards Stark Tower. My timing couldn't have been better either. I ended up at the top of the tower just in time to catch Tony as an energy blast from the machine he shot at threw him backward.

"Why are you shooting at it?" I huffed, earning a surprised look as his internal camera flickered into view.

"Jess? What are you doing here!"

I sighed. "Do you really have to ask that question? I'm _here_ because someone doesn't know how to play nice with technology. Did you really think shooting it would stop it? Even if it didn't have a defensive shield, it could have just exploded and dumped Gamma radiation all over the city. Shooting it is definitely not one of your smartest moves."

"You have any better ideas?"

"One," I mused, glancing down at the man who watched us.

"Plan B it is, then," he grumbled, not sounding pleased. "Are you coming?"

"In a minute. I want to see if there's anything I can do with the machine. You take Mr. Tall, Dark, and Alien."

"Be careful."

I snorted, shooting him a look. "I should be the one telling you that. I'm just looking at a machine. You're the one talking with a murderous trickster."

"Good point. I'll see you in a moment."

"Yup," I hummed, ending our chat and landing on the roof with the machine, allowing my helmet to fall away so I could see the machine myself.

When I did finally lay eyes on it though, I stumbled, catching myself as my head ached and throbbed.

"O-Oh, you're cheeky, aren't you?" I questioned, eyeing the cube that suddenly felt so familiar as I remembered my nightmares. "You've been talking to me in my sleep. Telling me things I can't ever seem to remember. Giving me headaches when I got anywhere near you or Loki's scepter. Well, you wanted to see me. So, here I am. And I really must say, I'm _so_ not impressed."

I felt a hint of displeasure and winced as my headache doubled, nearly sending me to my knees if it weren't for my grip on the podium with the computer attached to it.

"What? You expect me to be thrilled? Overjoyed that some weird alien box thing thought I was special enough to talk to?" I snapped, silently wondering why it felt as though I was speaking to a person and not an inanimate object. "Don't be stupid. You're threatening my planet right now, my home."

I choked out a cough then, sagging as images passed through my mind of a bright, brilliant universe and I grit my teeth, lifting my head with a snarl.

"I don't care about the universe out there that we're missing. We would get there eventually! _Peacefully!_ Setting up a war with the universe isn't a gift to humanity, it's a death sentence! We're not ready for this! We have no way of defending ourselves. We'll be wiped out!"

Finally, I was able to stand upright without much pain as realization dawned on me. Or, well, the cube showed me what its purpose was.

"Preparation? For what?"

I winced at the images, bringing a hand to my head that felt as though it were seeing too much and too little at the same time.

"A-A war? But we wouldn't have _had_ a war if you hadn't—" I cringed at the spike of pain that went through me. "All right! All right! Christ! No need to be all pissy about it." I rubbed at my head. "But why help us then? Why me?"

It didn't really answer my first question, though it's response to the second confused me.

"What? What do you mean, I don't exist? I'm right here. I am physically standing right in front of you. Jess Norris, girlfriend of Tony Stark, the idiot known as Iron Man."

Yet, it showed me images of something else. Of Tony and Pepper standing on that roof after the Expo kissing. Of her at an announcement about their wedding. Of the two of them with a little girl in a summer house living a normal life. I took a step back, shaking my head.

"N-No. No, that can't be right."

But there was more. Pepper in an Iron Man suit. Pepper in tears holding Tony's Iron Man helmet. Pepper in the Avengers helping Tony. And nowhere in this world did it show me, or anyone like me. I didn't exist. The Tesseract was showing me my reality. I existed here, but nowhere else. _That_ was why it picked me. I was different. I was _wrong_. I was never meant to exist and yet, somehow, I was born and led here to be with Tony. To help him, help the Avengers, learn about the Tesseract and learn from the Tesseract. And never before had I felt so small. I sank to the ground, stunned into silence for a moment as the Tesseract stopped playing images in my head and let me think.

"But if I'm not supposed to exist then… I'm an anomaly. Anything could go wrong because I'm here. _Everything_ could go wrong. I—" I was cut off as the Tesseract flared. "I'm an unknown factor that could save or destroy everyone just by merely existing."

The flare faded and I stood up, giving the cube a look as it seemed to shoo me off, having told me what it wanted to. It was hard to think after all that, that I'd just spoken to a box, of all things. A sentient cube, really, but a box nonetheless. And as much as I wanted to write off what it showed me as being some delusion of my exhausted mind, I somehow felt it was undeniably true. And that scared me almost as much as the war it had given me a glimpse of. A war between the entire universe and a man who thought he was a God. A war that everybody lost and one that I could possibly change.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony stepped into Stark Towers, strolling up to the bar as Loki joined him, the two eyeing each other like predators, waiting for one to make a wrong move.

"Would you like a drink?" Tony asked, doing what he could to act nonchalantly.

He just needed to get to the bracelets he and Jess had made for his new suit that were tucked just under the counter.

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no. Threatening," Tony corrected, eyes glancing out the window and wishing he had a better view of the roof where Jess was. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one."

Loki scowled, turning away to look out the window himself, making Tony stiffen. Loki knew Jess had come with him, and despite how strong-willed Jess was, Tony would rather keep her out of the fight as much as he could. Thankfully, Loki didn't look bothered.

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. Not even your clever little girlfriend. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers," Tony said, popping a bottle open and earning a confused look from the man. "That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type of thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

"Yeah," Tony smirked, glad Loki looked at least a little unnerved by them. "It takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the demigod."

Loki groaned, turning away in annoyance at the mention of Thor.

"A super-soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend," Tony continued, sliding out the bracelets and slipping them on unnoticed. A man with breathtaking anger-management issues, a couple of master assassins, my girlfriend, and you, big fella. You've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan," Tony mused, sipping his drink and stepping around the bar. "When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off," Loki mused, as Tony went closer.

"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it."

Loki moved closer now. "How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you." Loki tapped Tony's chest with his scepter, expecting to take control over his mind, but nothing happened as the tip of it bounced off his chest piece.

He tried again, but still nothing.

"This usually works."

"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon," Tony remarked, not really impressed, though curious himself about what was failing to happen. "One out of five—"

Loki's hand snapped forward, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him across the room.

"Jarvis, anytime now," Tony grunted under his breath as he picked himself up off the floor only for Loki to grab him again.

"You will all fall before me," Loki snarled.

"Deploy!" Tony called out again, seeing the compartment in the wall slowly opening and wishing it went just a _bit_ faster. "Deploy!"

Loki threw him out the window, sending him falling down below and catching Jess's attention up on the roof.

"Tony?" She called out, looking at Loki through the window before realizing one window was broken and Tony was nowhere to be found. "Tony!"

Before she could throw herself off the roof after him, a suit flew out of the tower and went after Tony, allowing her to let out a sigh of relief and rub at her eyes—not knowing they were now a startling shade of bright blue. Tony flew up before he could hit the ground and faced Loki.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil."

Loki lifted his scepter, but Tony got his shot off first, knocking him back just as the machine on the roof went off, making Jess call out awkwardly.

"Uh, Tony? I-I don't think I can stop this!"

Tony flew over to where she was and winced at the beam that was shooting up into the sky. "Keep trying. I'll do what I can to stop too many coming through."

"It's an _army_," Jess argued. "I really don't think I can help much he—"

"Jess, please," he urged. "Stay here."

He flew up and started taking out the creatures on hoverbikes, hoping she listened and didn't put herself in any more danger than she already was. They might have come to an agreement that Jess would help him with things involving Iron Man, but that didn't mean he was glad about it. She'd gotten hurt enough helping him before, but this was even more of an extreme than a few Iron Man copycats. This was an army of aliens that they hadn't the slightest clue how to fight. And he would do everything he could to try and keep her safe, even if that meant upsetting her by putting her on the sidelines.

He took out as many as he could, but there were so many getting past him, he worried about any civilians below. Surprisingly enough though, there weren't as many screams as he'd expected. _Did it work? Did they make it in time?_ He brought up Jess's internal camera, blinking in surprise at the bright blue in her eyes, but shaking it off as just the pixels being off.

"Jess? What's the number of civilians still here?"

"_Uh, not many? The army has a blockade up at about 39__th__ street and have evacuated most of the people close to the tower. I'm getting a few life signs near the border, some in the subway tunnels. Shit,_" she cursed, and he could hear her typing away. "_There's some stuck inside a bank and a bus that got caught in traffic. I'll go and—_"

"Stay put, Jess. Leave it to the Captain," Tony replied.

"_But—Oh, great. Thor's here. Now, I have to try and stop this thing __**and**__ avoid getting involved in a brotherly spat._"

"Just stay out of their way and you'll be fine," Tony huffed, just as the plane carrying the others connected to their comms.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast."

"What? Did you stop for drive-thru?" He huffed at them, doing what he could to deal with the aliens on his tail. "Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you."

The plane swooped down the street he'd called out, pulling out its railgun and firing once they saw Tony zoom by ahead of them. They took out a number of the creatures behind Tony as even more came out of the portal.

"_Sir, we have more incoming,_" Jarvis chimed into Tony's comm.

"Fine. Let's keep them occupied," he responded. "Jess? Progress?"

Jess shook her head up on the roof of the tower, typing away desperately on the laptop connected to the machine. "I can't shut it down manually. I'm trying every coding technique I know, but the system's completely locked down and _somebody_ had to knock out the guy who set up the machine, so I honestly don't know what more I can do."

"_Just keep trying. Think of any way to get that thing shut down or destroying it_."

Jess grumbled under her breath as he cut off their comms, struggling to get the computer to give her anything and it didn't help that Thor and Loki were fighting just one level below her. Then, the plane with the others flew up to try and help, making Jess flinch away as bullets whizzed by.

"Oi! Be careful!" She complained to their comms, only for Loki to fire off a shot from his scepter and take out an engine.

Eyes widening, she quickly put on her helmet and flew after the falling plane. She grabbed ahold of the tail and used her thrusters to try and slow its descent. It was still falling, but not as haphazardly as it would have, and Hawkeye was able to land it without anyone inside getting hurt. Jess landed in front of the plane in concern.

"You guys okay?"

Natasha nodded, removing her seatbelt and scrambling out with the others.

"We've got to get back up there," Steve said, looking at the tower as Jess landed beside him.

"I've been working on the machine, and it's impossible to shut down manually. Try attacking it, and it lets out an energy blast and knocks you away. The shielding is impenetrable. Tony's already tried. And Thor is currently dealing with Loki. I'm more worried about the rest of the civilians."

Steve turned to her. "How many?"

Jess shook her head. "I don't know. There's some hoarded up in a bank that need to get evacuated. The ones in the subway tunnels should be fine, but there's also a few stuck in cars. The army set up a barrier back at 39th street, but I don't know how well their weapons will do against these guys."

There was a loud roar then and our gazes all shifted upward where a large, metal-covered, flying whale-like creature flew down from the portal in the sky.

"Holy shit," Jess breathed as it flew over them and more creatures were launched off its side and onto buildings nearby.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asked.

"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony replied, eyeing the creature himself. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve questioned, but Jess was quick to respond.

"Not yet."

"Just keep me posted. Jess, any ideas about the big guy?"

Jess eyed the beast as it flew by. "Look for gaps in the metal armor? Go for the face? I-I'm not sure. You can try hooking it around the mouth to steer it. M-Maybe an electromagnetic pulse could stop whatever's controlling it?"

"Jess, calm down," Tony said, hearing the slight edge to her voice.

"Calm down? There's a giant fucking armored _whale_ in the sky!" She screeched, making him wince. "I'm allowed to not be entirely calm right now!"

She had a point and while he put on a good front for being a hero that needed to remain calm in front of people, he was also rather terrified about how wrong this whole thing could go. He had to admit though, her suggestions about the creature were rather helpful.

"I'll try some of those out, Jess. Stay safe."

Jess went to argue with him, but Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "We'll figure something out. For right now, we need someone working on getting that portal closed."

Jess shoved his hand off with a glare. "And I've already tried everything."

Loki zoomed by overhead then, lighting up the streets and sending the few civilians left running.

"They're fish in a barrel down there," Steve muttered, anxious to help as more creatures landed on the road.

"We got this," Natasha said. "It's good. Go."

"Do you think you can hold them off?" He asked them.

"Captain," Hawkeye said, arming himself. "It would be my genuine pleasure."

He snapped up and took out a few and Steve jumped away to try and get to the trapped civilians as Natasha stood and shot at them as well.

"Jess, what are you going to do?" Natasha called out, but Jess was staring off into the distance where Loki had flown. "Jess!"

Jess turned around. "Did you see his scepter?"

"What?"

"Loki's scepter. While he was flying that thing, he didn't have it, right?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

Jess grinned. "Because I just came up with an idea. Holler if you need help. I'm going to find it."

"Jess, what's his scepter going to do?" Natasha called out, but the woman took off. "Jess!" Natasha groaned, taking out a few more creatures in her frustration as Hawkeye raised a brow.

"She seems fun."

"Oh, don't get me started."

* * *

I flew up to the tower, checking up on Thor as he held his side.

"You okay?" I asked him and he nodded, tossing a small blade away that had been jabbed into him.

"Fine. Where's Loki?"

"Flying around on one of the creature's scooter things. Where's his scepter?"

Thor looked around, before pointing. "Down there. Why?"

"I'm borrowing it."

"What?"

I ignored his question and flew down to the lower lever of Stark Tower, picking up the scepter and wincing as my head ached while I held it. "Oh, don't be picky with me know. That stupid cube dealt with me earlier and for whatever reason, you don't like me. Thing is, I don't care. I need your help."

The light in the scepter faded and with it, the ache in my head as I pulled up Tony's internal comm. He now had the big whale following _him_, after all.

"Hey, Tony. Think you can fly that thing past the tower? I've got an idea."

"_An idea? What idea? Jess, you're supposed to be working on the machine._"

I grit my teeth, beginning to get annoyed with his smothering while there was an army wreaking havoc on New York City. "Tony, shut up and bring it over."

"…_All right,_" he muttered.

I looked to Thor, who raised a brow. "What?"

"Nothing," the demigod replied hastily, and I rolled my eyes, heading over and bringing a hand to his side, making him wince.

"I've stopped the bleeding. That should help," I informed him. "Go help the others. Sooner or later, Loki will come to you. It _is_, after all, his plan to get revenge on you for whatever you did to upset him."

Thor cracked a smile. "Very well."

Jess's helmet snapped to the side then, a blast from a creature having hit it and Thor was quick to throw his hammer, knocking the creature off its bike before looking back at her.

"Jess, are you all right?"

"D-Damn thing," she spat, pulling off the damaged helmet and brushing her hand under her nose that leaked a spot of blood.

Thor's gaze though was locked on her eyes, making him step forward threateningly and bring his hammer back. "You…"

"Huh?" She frowned, giving him a look and suddenly feeling a little worried. "What? What's wrong?"

"He's gotten to you too."

"Who?"

"Loki," Thor spat. "He has your mind."

"What? No, he doesn't. He hasn't touched me with the scepter. I'm fine."

"Then, why are your eyes blue?"

I blinked, confused. "What?"

He pointed his hammer at me. "Your eyes are the bright blue of those he has placed under his control. They were green before."

I frowned, picking up a piece of glass from off the ground slowly to not aggravate him and looked at my reflection, proving he was right. My eyes were a bright shade of blue that they hadn't been before.

"How?" I muttered, thinking back to every encounter I'd had with Loki. "I feel fine. He only touched me back on the ship, but never on the chest with his scepter. I'm in complete control of my thoughts, my actions." I dropped the piece and looked to Thor, only to catch sight of the machine behind him and I groaned. "Oh, you didn't."

"Me?" Thor questioned as I dragged a hand down my face.

"No, not you. The damn cube. I'm not being controlled by anyone. I was talking with the cube earlier. She said some stupid things and probably did this to me."

"You spoke with it?"

"It's a sentient cube," I grumbled, giving him a look. "A really annoying one at that. Look. I swear I'm not under any mind control. Do you need to look in my head to prove it?"

Thor eyed her, having not seen anything proving she wasn't in control of herself, but the brightness of her eyes unnerved him. The last thing they needed was someone on their side to go rogue.

"What are you going to do with the scepter?"

"Loki uses it to control minds. I thought I might give it a shot on the whale."

Thor's eyes widened, looking out at where the whale was steadily getting closer to the tower. "By Odin's beard, that might work."

"Right?" I grinned, though I still held my hands up in surrender. "So, I would _like_ to help, if you'd let me."

Thor hesitated, but nodded, begrudgingly lowering his threatening stance towards me. "Then, I will trust you for now."

"Good to know. Have fun on the ground."

He nodded, swinging his hammer and flying off as I looked towards the approaching whale.

"_We're nearly there, Jess! Hope your plan works!_" Tony called out and I swallowed thickly.

"So do I," I breathed before jumping off the side of the tower and landing on the back of the whale.

I grimaced when my feet slipped off its metal plating before I adjusted things to climb up it's back better. When I got to the head, I held the scepter and murmured under my breath.

"Please, work. Please, please, please work."

I reached the scepter out and touched the creature's head with the tip, wincing as my head ached with the bright blue flare of the scepter. Controlling another's mind was _not_ nice on the head. It was stifling, honestly and I knew I wouldn't be able to control it long, but I tossed the scepter back onto Stark Tower as I led the beast over it, easily pulling it off Tony's tail as I opened up my comms.

"Anyone need some big help?" I questioned, a grin lacing my tone. "I've got control of our big friend for at least a few more minutes."

"_You're kidding._"

"_How the hell did you do that?_"

"Loki's scepter," I replied, wincing as sweat began to roll down my neck from the strain. "I-I figured if he can control people with a touch of it, why couldn't I control a whale?"

"_You're insane,_" Natasha replied.

"Just a little," I said, steering the whale around to take out more and more creatures flying around before I spotted someone down below. "Is that Banner?"

"_Yeah. We've got him,_" Steve replied.

"Well, tell him to get ready, because I'm bringing the party to you. I've got seconds of control left."

I turned the creature around towards where the group was waiting, hearing Natasha's unsure response.

"_I don't see how that's a party._"

"Oh, trust me. You're not the one controlling it. It's _quite_ the party," I grimaced, feeling my control slipping before I let it go and pushed off its head.

Tony grabbed me and flew me further away from it, dropping me off with the others as I lifted my helmet and wiped more blood from under my nose.

"He's all yours," I hummed, earning a disbelieving shake of the head from Natasha as Hawkeye helped me to my feet.

Steve faced Bruce. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Cap," Bruce said, approaching the beast as it skid across the street. "I'm always angry."

He turned into the Hulk and slammed a fist into the creature's head, flipping it over as Tony blew up the center of it to keep it landing on the rest of us. The other creatures screeched in anger, the Hulk roaring in return as Tony landed beside me and we prepared for even more aliens. And we weren't disappointed.

"Guys…" Natasha breathed.

"Call it, Captain," Tony said, knowing that Steve would have the best way of countering the group we were about to face.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Can you give me a lift?" Hawkeye asked Tony, who nodded.

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas."

Tony flew him up and went off to his position as Steve gave out the rest of the orders.

"Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up."

Thor spun his hammer and rushed off as Steve looked to Natasha.

"You and me, we stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. Jess, I want you back up in that tower trying everything you can to shut that thing down. See if you can wake up Selvig and find out how to stop it if the computer won't."

I nodded, not thrilled to be back on tech duty, but knowing at this point that they weren't going to let me do much else. I'd taken down the whale, but now had a migraine that threatened to knock me out if I wasn't careful. And I wasn't as specially trained as Natasha and the others for fighting. _Something to add to my schedule._

"And Hulk?"

The Hulk turned with a snarl.

"Smash."

I smirked as the man threw himself up onto the nearest building and began taking out enemies, while I flew back up to Stark Tower to try and get the machine turned off once more.

"All right, cube. You showed us the universe, now help me put it back."

I did what I could, though my head throbbed being so close to the cube after what I'd done with the whale and with it resisting what I was trying to do.

"Just let me stop you. Give me a hint or something," I asked it, ducking as a blast flew over my head only for the riders of the hoverbike to get attacked by the Hulk.

I heard heavy breathing then and looked over to Selvig.

"You're awake. Thank God. You have any way of shutting this down? I could do with a bit of help over here. No coding is working and if we don't shut it down soon, some stupid person is going to screw the entire city over. Despite my connections, I can't stop everyone."

"T-The scepter," he said briefly, and my head snapped up with wide eyes.

"Oh, my God. Of _course!_"

Loki crashed into the tower, making me tense in concern as his eyes snapped to mine with a snarl. Before he could even try to do anything though, the Hulk slammed him into the other room and proceeded to—rather aggressively—slam the demigod repeatedly into the ground. I winced, not really wanting anyone to have to go through that, and something nagging the back of my mind telling me there was something off with Loki, but it wasn't clear enough what. _The Cube is still trying to send me vague messages. It's probably why my eyes are still blue. I'm… connected to it now or something. How annoying._ Natasha landed nearby as well, rushing over to join me.

"Did you figure anything out?"

I nodded, pointing to the lower level. "We need the scepter. It's a part of the cube almost. Well, not exactly, but I-I can't really explain it when I'm dealing with this headache."

"It can't fight against itself," Selvig explained. "I built in a safety to cut the power source. Loki's scepter may be able to close the portal."

"Could you grab it?" I asked Natasha, looking up with a small grimace at what was going through my internal screens. "Damn, we're really starting to lose the upper hand. Clint's out of arrows. Tony's surrounded. Bruce's being beat by numbers—"

"_Jess, you hear me?_"

I blinked at Fury's voice. "Yeah, what's going on?"

"_You have a missile headed straight for the city._"

"Shit," I cursed. "How long till it's here?"

"_Three minutes max. Payload will wipe out Midtown._"

"Right. Right. A nuke. Have to deal with a nuke now. Um… Tony? I know you're a bit tied down at the moment, but did you get that?"

"_Yeah, I'm on it._"

"If you can get it up through the portal—"

"_How'd you know what I was thinking?_"

I rolled my eyes. "Now's not really the time to flirt. I'll hold out on closing it for as long as I can, but we can't let much more of them get through. You'll have to be quick, and I'll kill you myself if you do anything stupid."

Natasha climbed back up with the scepter and I stopped her.

"We can't yet. There's a nuke heading for the city and Tony's going to send it up the portal. Just get it ready."

She nodded, pressing the scepter into the shielding of the cube and making me wince. The Cube wasn't thrilled, and I could taste copper on my lips from my bleeding nose.

"_Isn't that a one-way trip_?" Steve questioned over the comms about Tony.

"It's not. The portal is a door. If we can get it and they can get out, then he'll be fine. He should be fine."

I watched as Tony flew up into the portal, feeling nervousness worm its way into my heart. _But the suit isn't made for space. The systems will shut down almost immediately, including oxygen supply—if there even is one. He'll fall unconscious, won't be able to fly out on his own. If he falls and misses the opening of the portal…_

"Natasha, I'm going up."

"What? Jess, you can't—"

"I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions and this suit can make it up there just like his. I can give him the boost to get back here safely."

"But if he can't get out on his own, you—"

I turned towards her, glad she couldn't see the scared look on my face through the helmet. "Tony is worth so much more than I am. All I wanted to do today was help, and all I've really done is gotten in the way and proved to be useless at shutting this thing down before they sent a nuke in the first place. I'm not trained to fight. I'm not a great computer hacker or a genius. I'm an ex-lawyer who happened to be dating Iron Man long enough to get a suit of my own, only to not be able to use it for more than flying around. So, yeah. I'm going to get him. Because despite what everyone thinks, he _is_ a hero and the world needs him."

And with that, I took off up towards the portal.

"_Miss Norris, I really don't think—_"

"Do me a favor, Jarvis. Shut up," I bit out, passing through the portal and flying past Tony's drifting suit before using the last of my thrusters to push him out.

He flew out of the portal as I myself drifted that way as well, but at a much slower pace. I would make it so long as the portal remained open, but it started to close just as my eyes did.

* * *

The Avengers all stared up at the closing portal, hoping that the two Iron Man suits would fly out like everything was okay. Not taking any more chances of something sneaking out, Steve had Natasha close the portal not long after spotting Tony's red suit tumble out. Thor grabbed him and brought him down to the pavement, before looking back up in concern.

"Jess is still up there," Natasha murmured, desperately watching the last bit of the portal begin to close.

"Come on, Jess," Steve breathed because, despite their previous fighting, the woman was kind.

She had to be, in order to see all the good in Tony. And the others felt much the same. Despite what she'd told Natasha, they all felt that she was very much a part of this team. More so than Fury or the SHIELD agency. She fought for them, came up with strategies, though outside the box and befriended them in a way that made all of them feel almost normal. Even Clint and Thor, who barely knew her could tell she was a good person who deserved to make it out of this with the rest of them. Then, a flash of blue just as the portal closed and Steve let out a sigh of relief.

"She made it."

"She's not slowing down," Thor commented, swinging his hammer to go after her as well, but the Hulk jumped across the skyscrapers and caught her limp body, bringing her down to lie beside Tony.

"Are they breathing?" Steve asked and Thor took off both of their faceplates, wincing at the blood streaked under Jess' nose.

Tony's chest piece was dim and he himself was unresponsive, up until the Hulk let out a loud roar of frustration and the man jerked.

"What the hell," Tony panted. "What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me unless it was Jess. Then, I'll take it."

Thor was kneeling beside Jess though, worried. "She's still not moving."

"What?" Tony gasped, rolling onto his side and trying to push himself up with a grimace. "What happened? Why is she like this?"

"She went up after you," Steve explained. "Shoved you out of the portal."

"And she warned me about doing something stupid," he grumbled, reaching over and tapping the band around the wrist of her suit, making it come off.

"How come yours doesn't do that?"

"She doesn't like the suits as much as I do. Always wanted a way to get it on and off easily. It needs improvement, but…" Tony shrugged, patting Jess's face. "Jarvis?"

"_Life signs are stable, though heart rate is a little slow. She may need something to wake her up._"

"I've got just the thing," Tony smirked, leaning forward as though he was going to kiss her, only to turn—surprising Steve as he whispered in her ear. "Jess, I may have accidentally gotten myself into a lawsuit with the entire city of New York."

"You, _what_?" Jess nearly shouted, snapping awake only to grimace and bring a hand to her head. "God, my head."

Steve blinked. "Did you just…"

"Wake her up with the threat of a lawsuit against me?" Tony smiled. "Yes. She's surprisingly motivated when it comes to the trouble I cause for myself."

"And others," she muttered. "Did we win?"

"We won," Steve nodded, and Tony sank back to the ground with a sigh of relief.

"All right. Yay! Hurray. Good job, guys," he said tiredly. "Not to you, Jess. Who told you, you could fly off an save me like that?"

Jess lightly shook her head and closed her eyes, exhausted. "Don't talk to me, Tony."

Tony continued like she hadn't spoken. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

"It's Middle Eastern," Jess muttered. "It's rotisserie meat chopped up and put inside a pita or flatbread with vegetables."

"Sounds great. Can we get some?"

"We're not finished yet," Thor said, drawing our attention back up to the tower where Loki was only just beginning to move after being pummeled by the Hulk.

Of course, the moment he felt he wasn't alone, he turned to see the entire group of Avengers waiting behind him threateningly.

"If it's all the same to you… I'll have that drink now."

* * *

I scratched the back of my neck as Thor took Loki and the Tesseract back to his home planet. Even with the cube gone, I had expected some sort of relief in my mind, but nothing felt any different and at Tony's raised brow, I shook my head. He shrugged though, not really caring about the change in my eye color or what I'd been willing to tell him about communicating with the cube. I wasn't about to tell him that the cube said I didn't belong in this universe or the fact that I still had those dreams that I couldn't quite remember full of flashing images of things I didn't understand and whispers. Tony, the big goof that he was, only seemed interested in what had changed—which honestly wasn't much of anything, as the mandatory MRI he forced me to do informed him.

For now, though, the Avengers were all going their separate ways. Or, well, most of them. Bruce was coming with Tony and me, more than willing to be doing good in a lab that didn't require cages or judgmental looks about who he was. And Natasha and Clint went back to their own jobs along with Steve, who planned to undoubtedly continue with Fury and the rest at SHIELD. The media was reeling though, something I grimaced at on my phone.

"How troublesome."

Tony rolled his eyes as Bruce raised a brow at me.

"It's the media. They'll do what they want."

"And we _both_ know how that can be detrimental, so don't act like this doesn't concern you," I chided Tony.

"But I have you to keep them off my back," he purred, sneaking a kiss on my cheek before I slapped his arm

"Drive. And Bruce? If he starts being an ass, you have full permission to smack him across the room."

Bruce cracked a smile. "Okay."

"Hey!"


	14. Chapter 14

**"Iron Man 3" starts here and I'll be going into "Avengers Age of Ultron" after this.**

* * *

I twisted and turned, sweat dripping down my body as I struggled in the grips of an invisible enemy. It was another nightmare. They'd gotten more frequent as of late. Ever since what happened with Loki and the Avengers. I was only human, after all. Seeing and experiencing what I had that day, it was only right that some of it would stick around to haunt me later, especially given my feelings on the matter of how useless I'd felt standing around doing nothing other than trying to stop the Tesseract. I still hadn't spoken with Tony about it, but how could I? He was obviously handling things better than I was. I always put on a brave face, so how could I possibly just crawl up to him and tell him how I felt useless and scared of everything? I couldn't let him see me like that. I wasn't even sure he knew about the nightmares.

Our relationship hadn't been great since then. He tended to sleep elsewhere—if at all—and had stopped really talking to me as much, more absorbed in making more of his suits. And now that I had finished my online classes, I was more involved in the company Pepper now ran. It wasn't that we felt any different about each other, it just appeared as though we were both not talking about what needed to be spoken, and were handling our own stress the only way we knew how: by diving headfirst into our work.

So, while Tony was downstairs working, I was upstairs trying to sleep and failing. This nightmare, in particular, was a rather bad one. Aliens trying to take over the world, people screaming and being shot down. Tony falling from the portal in the sky while I hovered above, trapped in the space as the opening closed. Then, _he_ appeared. My father ripping open the closet door and jerking me out of the dark, throwing me to the ground and beating me over something foul that had happened at work. No… No, that wasn't it. He was attacking me for him, for Tony. He was beating me and laughing, mocking me.

"_See? You thought you could be happy? With __**him**__ of all people? You can't even help him! He didn't need you! You were just in the way! You're always in the way!"_

Then, I jerked awake, eyes snapping open and gasps pouring from my lips as tears flowed freely down my face. I reached out for some sense of comfort, but the other side of the bed was as empty and cold as it had been when I fell asleep in it. I pushed myself up on shaky limbs, fighting to control my breathing and push away the fear and panic that I hadn't felt in ages. Knowing that there was no chance I would be able to get back to sleep, I forced myself to get up, grab a robe, and head downstairs for a cup of tea or coffee.

"Jarvis?"

"_Yes, Miss?_"

I rubbed at my tired, black-rimmed eyes. "Is Tony still downstairs?"

"_Yes. He has been awake for almost seventy-two hours, miss, and hasn't eaten anything since this morning._"

I nodded with a soft sigh. "I'll… I'll get him something to drink and eat. Maybe spike it with some diphenhydramine to get him sleeping," I joked.

"_You as well, miss. My records show that your average time sleeping restfully is under two hours a night. Shall I make an appointment for you to see Dr. Marshall?_"

I grimaced at the thought of the psychiatrist, who I hadn't seen since before I started working for Tony. "I don't even want to know how you got his information, but… maybe I should."

"_I'll see what days are available and work around your schedule._"

I waved the AI off, letting it do as it pleased, for now, knowing that it would probably be best for me to see Marshall again anyway. I had been meaning to see him for our annual checking-in appointment but had been avoiding it for a while, especially since I finally thought I'd found someplace where I could be happy without fear of my past with my father looming over me. _Apparently not,_ I mused with another soft sigh as I grabbed the two glasses of tea—not wanting to give myself or Tony coffee when we should both be sleeping—and added them to the tray that carried some plates of left-over Chinese take-out from the evening before. _Date nights have been a bust too. I've got a night off coming up that he knows about, but if he's going to keep being this busy, then it probably won't work out well._ I pushed the thought from my mind as I headed downstairs, hearing crashes and bangs but not really being bothered or worried about it. _There's no painful cries or grunts of pain, so it's probably nothing too dangerous._ What I saw though, was a bit amusing.

Tony was standing on his typical platform for his suits, and various pieces were flying around the room and attaching themselves to him as he listened to a jazzy Christmas tune. He didn't notice me coming in—a bit too preoccupied when a particular piece slammed into his crotch and then his back, knocking him around. His faceplate was last it seemed and I raised a brow as he challenged the flying piece of metal that had silenced his music.

"Come on. I ain't scared of you."

The piece flew at him, bouncing off the edge of a table and flipping upside-down, making him do a front flip to get it on right and land on the platform in a crouched pose. While I was mildly impressed by the lengths he'd gone to, to get his suit to be able to home in on him, I could tell there were some things he needed to tweak. Which was proven when a piece he'd missed flew from across the room and knocked him to the ground—scattering the pieces on the floor as he groaned and pulled off the remaining face-plate.

"_As always, sir, a great pleasure watching you work,_" Jarvis drawled.

"Do you need the medkit?" I asked, drawing his attention to me as he rolled his shoulder and hastily scrambled to his feet to look more presentable.

"What? No. I'm fine… How much of that did you see?"

I blinked slowly at him. "Enough to know that you need to adjust the speed of the pieces flying at you when they get closer, add a locked-in mechanism so the pieces don't throw each other off of you, and a navigation system to prevent them getting caught on things or bouncing off tables."

"So… everything."

"Pretty much."

He pulled off the helmet with a grumble of complaint under his breath as I lifted up the tray to show him and set it on his work-desk.

"I brought you some left-overs from yesterday and some tea. Jarvis said you haven't been sleeping or eating."

"I'm fine," he repeated, kicking a piece of the broken suit on the floor.

Knowing he was lying, but not wanting to start a fight, I pulled out a napkin from under one of the plates on the tray and stepped over to him, dabbing at the blood on the corner of his mouth.

"If you're going to lie, at least do it when it's not obvious it's a lie," I lightly chided him. "Do you want to come upstairs? Eat, maybe take a nap, or continue thinking up ideas on your suits with company?"

"I should probably stay here, work on a few things, get that calibration working and—"

"Please," I said quietly, shutting him up and making him look at me properly for the first time in the last few days.

Seeing that I was obviously unsettled about something, lacking sleep myself and looking just as worn out as he was probably feeling, he begrudgingly nodded.

"All right," he muttered, before turning to Dum-E—who was wearing a dunce cap for some reason. "Dum-E, get this mess cleaned up. I'll be back down here later."

The robot whirred dejectedly, and Tony headed for the stairs, leaving me to pick back up the tray to take with me, but not before I took off Dum-E's dunce cap and lightly shushed the robot with a small smile. I still had a soft spot for it, despite Tony's grievances with the thing. Once upstairs, the two of us settled on the couch leaning up against one another which helped us both relax slightly, though the elephant in the room still hovered over us until Tony couldn't handle it anymore and turned on the news. It wasn't the best thing to watch, but it did what it was meant to and distracted us from our troubles as a clip played of a man called the Mandarin.

"Should I look into it?" I offered Tony, seeing the stony cold look in his eyes that said he was more than ready to fly to this guy's house as Iron Man and offer him to the President on a silver platter.

"No," he said shortly, getting up and headed back towards the basement. "Don't wait up."

"Tony, if you're going to go after him, then I want to—"

"I said _no_, Jess," he said shortly, making me go quiet as a flicker of my father from my nightmare passed through my head. "Just go to sleep. You've got a meeting tomorrow, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah," I murmured, begrudgingly letting him head back downstairs and turning to the muted TV as the news channel scrambled to try and figure out what had happened.

"_You're always in the way!"_

* * *

"Tony's got them in his basement. They're wearing party hats," Happy tried to convince Pepper as they walked through Stark Industries. "This is an asset that we can put to use."

"Uh, huh," Pepper muttered, signing a document that an employee brought forward. "So, you're suggesting that I replace the entire janitorial staff with robots."

"What I'm saying is that the human element of human resources is our biggest point of vulnerability. We should start phasing it out immediately."

"What? Did you just say that?" Pepper questioned in disbelief as he lightly scolded a staff member for not wearing their I'd badge. "Happy?"

"Yes?"

"Okay. I am thrilled that you are now the Head of Security. Okay? It's the perfect position for you."

"Thank you. I do appreciate it."

"However, since you've taken the post—"

"You don't have to thank me."

"We've had a rise in staff complaints of 300%"

"Thank you."

"It's not a compliment," Pepper stopped him.

"It's not—It _is_ a compliment. Clearly, somebody's trying to hide something."

Pepper was beginning to wonder if Happy had been picking up some things while working with Tony for so long, only to spot Jess walking in. "Look, Happy, why don't you try asking Jess what she thinks?"

"Huh?"

Pepper turned him around to an exhausted-looking Jess. "Jess, Happy has a proposition he would like to share."

"Um, well, I-I mean…" Happy cleared his throat as Jess stared back blankly, sipping probably her fourth cup of coffee that morning. "I-I was just thinking that maybe we could take some of those robots Tony has in his basement t-to replace the cleaning staff a-and better improve—"

"No," Jess said bluntly.

"W-What? But clearly there's a weakness in the company and that's—"

"Not going to be fixed by replacing the staff with hackable robots," Jess countered, giving him a bland look. "Or do you not remember the incident during the Expo where _multiple_ robots were hacked into and caused havoc?"

"B-But these won't be Iron Man suits, just—"

"Just cleaning robots working in one of the most advanced technological labs in the world and able to pick up any information they please should someone hack into them and use them to either spy on conversations, look at private documents or hack into our computers and security." Jess thanked a woman who stepped over to refill her nearly empty mug, before giving Happy a raised brow. "Still think it's a good idea?"

Happy sagged, knowing when he was defeated and honestly knowing he hadn't stood a chance against Jess—which was why he tried Pepper in the first place.

"Excuse me?" Another woman called out, making Pepper turn.

"Yes?"

"Miss Potts, Miss Norris, your four o'clock is here."

"Thank you," Pepper said as Happy frowned.

"Did you clear this four o'clock with me?"

"Happy, we'll talk about this later," Pepper stopped him. "But right now, we have to go deal with this very annoying thing."

"No wonder I'm being dragged into it," Jess muttered as Happy hesitated.

"Annoying how?"

"I used to work with him, and he used to ask me out all the time," Pepper explained. "So, it's a little awkward. And he's rather intelligent and I assumed Jess would enjoy a bit of a challenge and be willing to translate anything I miss."

Jess rolled her eyes. "You're just trying to distract me from Tony."

"And if it works, then maybe I'll have a slightly more functional assistant manager. Did you get _any_ sleep last night?"

"Don't start," Jess murmured as they stepped into the office only to stare in surprise at the well-dressed, rather good-looking man standing in Pepper's office.

"Pepper," he greeted with a smile.

"Killian?"

"You look great. You look really great."

"God, you, y-you look great," Pepper countered, making Jess shoot her a look. "I, I, I can't—What on earth have you been doing?"

"Nothing fancy," he shrugged. "Just five years in the hands of physical therapists. And please, call me Aldrich."

"Five years will do it," Jess muttered, drawing the man's attention to her and she put out her hand. "Jess Norris. Head tech engineer and technically the co-CEO of Stark Industries."

Killian took her hand, eyeing her. "Yes, I've heard of you. Graduated MIT in only a few years, dating Tony Stark himself too. You must be busy."

Jess scoffed. "Please. I've got nothing on you. You're the CEO for A.I.M. right?"

"You've heard of me?"

"Only the basics," Jess replied.

"You were supposed to be issued a security badge," Happy interjected then before Pepper hastily shooed him out.

She could see there was something going on between Jess and Killian, and while she felt a hint of jealousy, she couldn't help but wonder if Tony might start paying attention to Jess again should Killian start making moves on her. As much as Pepper didn't care for Tony's job-focused ideals, he and Jess had something good and currently, he was ruining it and making sure Jess ended up getting the brunt of it. Pepper had been trying to help Jess, but there was only so much she could do when the on who _needed_ to do something was too busy playing with his suits.

"It's very nice to see you, Killian," Pepper said as Happy stepped out to wait not far from the doors. "So, what is it you wanted to speak with us about?"

"Well, after years dodging the President's ban on 'immoral' biotech research," he started, making Pepper internally wince.

If there was one thing Jess didn't like, it was people who dodged the system because they thought what they were doing was right above all else. Tony was the exception because he _was_ doing right, but she doubted Killian was the same.

"My think tank now has a little something in the pipeline," Killian said, setting a box on the table and placing something behind his ear. "It's an idea we like to call Extremis. I'm gonna turn your lights down."

Jess's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything as Pepper just smiled politely and tried to get the frown off Jess's face by lightly kicking the woman's ankle. Killian showed them three small marbles.

"Regard the human brain," he said, rolling them across the glass table until they stopped, and a hologram appeared of a galaxy cluster of stars. "Uh, wait. Hold on, hold on. That's, that's the universe. My bad. But if I do that…"

Jess gave Pepper a raised brow, not impressed by the purposeful slip-up, but Pepper gave her a pointed nod towards him to get her to pay attention as the image changed to another image.

"That's the brain."

Jess eyed it with furrowed brows, before speaking up. "Is that a live feed?"

"How'd you know?" Killian questioned, rather surprised she'd figured it out and Jess lifted a finger to gesture to a part of the brain.

"There's electrical impulses traveling back and forth through the various portions of the brain and when you spoke, they went through the center responsible for speech, only to stop when you did."

"Well, now, how did Pepper find someone as clever as you?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Jess muttered, though Pepper could have sworn she saw a hint of pink on her cheeks as Killian got up and offered Jess a hand.

"Come on up. I'll prove it."

Jess hesitated but climbed up on the table when Pepper gave her a nudge.

"Now, pinch my arm."

She was more than willing to do that, and her eyes snapped over to the section of the brain that had lit up.

"What was that?" Pepper asked, enjoying the light show and stealthily reaching for her phone in her pocket.

"It's the primary somatosensory cortex," Killian explained. "It's the brain's pain center. But this is what I wanted to show you both." He reached out and turned Jess around, leaning over her shoulder and ignoring the way she stiffened as he turned and zoomed in on the image. "Now, Extremis harnesses our bioelectrical potential and it goes here. This is essentially an empty slot and what this tells us is that our mind—our entire DNA, in fact—is destined to be upgraded."

Again, Pepper winced. If there was one thing that hadn't changed with Killian, it was how oblivious he was towards women's feelings. Jess didn't look pleased with what he was saying, nor did she look particularly comfortable with how close he was. That and all his flirting with her was too subtle. It was part of the reason Jess and Tony worked out so well. Jess wasn't one to understand subtleties in relationships—despite how her entire job was looking into the subtleties of paperwork and laws. Tony was blunt and in turn, so was his flirting, which was always quick to hit home with Jess, who couldn't see anything _other_ than blunt flirting. So, she could only hope the picture she just sent Tony might kick his butt into gear. Pepper wasn't sure she could stand much more of depressed Jess.

* * *

Tony rang Happy, mostly because he was bored, but also because he wanted an update on Jess. It had been odd that she'd suddenly begged for him to stay up with her the night before, but with how strained they'd been lately, he doubted he'd get an answer from her. So, to Happy he went, getting the image of the man's forehead.

"Is this Forehead of Security?"

"_What? You know, look. I got a real job. What do you want?_" Happy complained, lowering the iPad a bit. "_I'm working. I've got something going on here._"

"What? Harassing interns?"

"_Let me tell you something. Do you know what happened when I told people I was Iron Man's bodyguard? They would laugh in my face. I had to leave while I still had a shred of dignity. Now, I've got a real job. I'm watching Pepper and your girlfriend._"

"What's going on? Fill me in."

"_For real?_"

"Yeah."

"_All right. They're meeting up with this scientist. Rich guy. Handsome._"

"Right," Tony said with a frown.

"_I couldn't make his face at first, right? You know I'm good with faces._"

"Oh, yeah. You're the best."

"_Well, so I run his credentials. I make him. Aldrich Killian. We actually met the guy back in… Where were we in '99? The science conference?_"

"Um, Switzerland."

"_Right. Right, exactly._"

"Killian. No. I don't remember that guy."

"_Of course, you don't remember him. He's not a blonde with a big rack. Or, well, anything like Jess._ _At first, it was fine. They were talking business. But now it's getting weird. He's showing Jess his big brain._"

"His what?"

"_His big brain and she likes it. Here, let me show you. Hold on. See?_"

Tony raised a brow, still looking at Happy. "Look at what? You watching them? Flip the screen and then we can get started."

"_I'm not a tech genius like you. Jess only showed me how to use this thing a few days ago. Just trust me. Get down here._"

"Flip the screen, then I can see what they're doing."

"_I can't! I don't know how to flip the screen. Don't talk to me like that anymore. You're not my boss. All right? I don't work for you. I don't trust this guy. He's got another guy with him. He's shifty._"

Tony was only half-listening, looking up what he could really quick about Killian. "Relax."

"_Seriously?_"

"I'm just asking you to secure the perimeter. Tell them to go out for a drink or something."

"_You know what? You should take more of an interest in what's going on here. This woman's the best thing that's ever happened to you a-and you're just ignoring her._"

Tony pulled a drink from his alcohol cabinet. "A giant brain?"

"_Yeah, there's a giant brain. There's a shifty character. I'm gonna follow this guy. I'm gonna run his plates and I'm gonna… You know, if it gets rough, so be it._"

"I miss you, Happy."

"_Yeah, I miss you too. But the way it used to be. Now you're off with the super friends. I don't know what's going on with you anymore. The world's getting weird._"

"Hey, I-I hate to cut you off. Do you have your Taser on you?"

"_Why?_"

"I think there's a gal in HR who's trying to steal some printer ink. You should probably go over there and zap her."

"_Yeah, nice,_" Happy scoffed as Tony shut the door and left the phone in the glass cabinet.

He had nothing to worry about. Jess didn't just fall for any old guy. She wasn't like him. They were just dealing with a rough patch after everything that happened with the Avengers, right? He lowered his drink, hesitating and remembering how she looked that evening when she'd asked for him to stay with her. Maybe he should be worried. Something was definitely wrong. And when his phone chimed and he looked at the photo Pepper had sent him, something in his gut twisted.

* * *

"Imagine if you could hack into the hard drive of any living organism and recode its DNA," Killian explained, but I eyed him dubiously as Pepper hummed.

"That would be incredible."

"And highly weaponizable," I jumped in, shooting Killian a look.

Handsome as he was, I could tell there was something off about him and his ideals.

"As in, enhanced soldiers, private armies, and Tony isn't—"

"Tony, Tony. You know, I invited Tony to join A.I.M. thirteen years ago. He turned me down. But something tells me, now there's a couple of new geniuses on the throne who don't have to answer Tony any more and who has slightly less of an ego."

I bristled, Pepper being the only thing stopping me from snapping at the man. I didn't appreciate people insulting Tony when they didn't actually know him. And while I knew he was an absolute dick when he was younger, that didn't give Killian a right to judge him now. Pepper's foot nudged my ankle and I begrudgingly reached back out for my coffee to try and hide the frown on my face.

"It's going to be a no, Aldrich," Pepper denied him for me. "As much as we'd like to help you."

He nodded and we got up, leading him out. "Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed. But then, as my father used to say, 'Failure is the fog through which we glimpse triumph.'"

"That's very deep," Pepper smiled. "And I have no idea what it means."

"It means he's not giving up," I replied, eyeing Killian as he smiled.

"I'm sure I'll see you again, Jess. Pepper." He leaned forward and kissed my cheek, before rushing off and I turned to Pepper with a scowl.

"I hate him."

Pepper sighed. "I noticed. I'm sorry. I would have helped you a bit more, but I thought it might help." She waved her phone where a text she'd sent to Tony lay on the screen, holding a picture of me and Killian on the table.

"_Pepper_," I growled. "I _told_ you, I'm fine. _We're_ fine."

Pepper rolled her eyes, putting her phone away. "If you were fine, then you wouldn't be walking in looking like the living dead and pouring alcohol into your coffee. Don't think I didn't notice."

I stuck my tongue out at her childishly, making her sigh.

"I'm just worried about you two."

"We're just… dealing with some stuff is all. We'll get it figured out," I muttered, really hoping it was true.


	15. Chapter 15

I drove up to our home and blinked at the large, oversized rabbit sitting in the drive. I walked up to it, prodded it with a finger and then promptly stuffed my face into its soft belly. _Is it bad that I don't actually mind that he got me something so ginormously stupid? _I sighed softly and stepped away, moving to head into the house knowing that there was no possible way to drag the large rabbit in with me.

"Hey, Tony. Sorry, I'm late. What's with the… Oh." I paused, looking at the Iron Man suit seated on the couch waiting for me. "Really? Are you seriously doing this right now?"

"What?" The suit questioned, standing up and heading over as I dropped my bag on the table.

"What suit is that anyway? Mark 37?"

"Uh, close, actually. 42."

I rolled my eyes, trying not to be too upset with Tony at the moment, but feeling unable to help letting my bitterness show. Between what happened at work and him doing this on our first actual date night in months, and my mood was quickly slipping.

"Any reason you're wearing it now when we're supposed to be having a nice night in?" I asked, removing my shoes and dragging a hand through my hair. _Need a shower._

"You know, it's always a little pinchy in the gooey bag at first, so…"

"You're such a moron," I smiled, unable to help it with his goofing off.

"Well, hey. Did you see your Christmas present?"

"Hard not to," I teased him. "Though, if you had made it maybe way smaller, I might have liked it a bit more. Hard to enjoy it if it's too big to fit in the house."

"That's actually a good point. I've got a team of guys coming tomorrow. They're gonna blow out that wall."

I snorted, picking up some fan drawings of Iron Man on the table and looking through them. "Tony, just get me a smaller one and sell that. It's much easier than paying hundreds of dollars to blow out a wall."

"All right. So, tense? Good day? Huh?"

"Tense is an accurate term for it," I replied, stiffening slightly when his hands landed on my shoulders until they began to massage the knots forming in my back.

"Ooh, shoulder's a little knotty. Naughty girl"

"Shut up," I lightly chided.

"So, I don't want to harp on this, but did you like the custom rabbit?"

"Yes, Tony, I did," I informed him. "Though again… smaller?"

"I'll remember that next time."

I got up as his hands slipped away, stepping around the chair and sliding up to the suit, knowing what was going on from the start. Tony didn't just wear his suit around the house because he wanted to. We'd made the rule for a reason. So, I thought I'd tease him just a bit.

"So, when are we going to start this little date night, hm?" I asked, lightly tapping the side of the helmet. "Can't do anything while you're still suited up."

"Huh, dammit, no can do," he said, tapping his chin. "You want to just kiss it on the… the facial slit?"

"Not really," I replied. "No fun if there's no response. It's fine though. I'll just head down to the garage, dig up a crowbar and pry you out of there."

"Crowbar, yeah," Tony murmured as I slipped past him. "E-Except there's been an uh, uh, a radiation leak."

"Sure, there has," I countered, easily bounding downstairs with a plan in mind to chuck the first piece of metal I could at the man who was most definitely _not_ in the suit following after me.

"At least let me get you, like a hazmat suit. A Geiger counter or something like that," Tony said, doing pullups with a hologram in front of his face as I stepped into the lab. "Busted."

"Are you done?" I asked, giving him a look as I folded my arms over my chest.

"Sorry."

I lightly pushed away the plate Dum-E offered me with food. "You ate without me on the one night we'd finally managed to get together?"

"He was just—"

"I don't want to be served by your suit, Tony."

"Well, yeah. I just mean we were hosting you while I finished up a little work."

I dragged a hand down my tired face. "Tony, if you didn't want to do this—"

"I did!" He argued. "Really. I-I just miscalculated the time it was going to take me to finish up some things. And yes, I had a quick bite. I didn't know if you were coming home, or you were having drinks with Aldrich Killian."

As if I couldn't get any more frustrated with him.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, ignoring the way his suit looked at me accusingly. "Are you spying on me at work now?"

"Happy was concerned, and Pepper, apparently."

"_Pepper_ was concerned because we haven't actually been a couple in months. Happy was concerned because Aldrich is a sketchy person with an even sketchier bodyguard," I said sharply, before waving at him and turning around. "You know what? Forget it. You're obviously busy and apparently don't trust me. So, I'm going to bed. Enjoy your work."

"Hold on. Come on. Jess. Hey! I admit it! My fault. Sorry."

At the apology, I stopped on the stairs, giving him an expression that said if he was suddenly pulling my leg, I wasn't about to deal with it.

"I'm a piping hot mess."

I hesitated, eyeing the way he crossed his arms over his chest defensively and shifted his weight back and forth on his feet. Finally, he was talking to me properly, so I started back down the stairs as he continued.

"It's been going on for a while. I haven't said anything. Nothing's been the same since New York."

"You think I don't know that?" I questioned him, starting to lower my hackles as well. "Tony, I was _there_, remember?"

"I know. It's just… You experience things and then they're over, and you still can't explain them. Gods, aliens, other dimensions. I'm just a man in a can. The only reason I haven't cracked up is probably because of you. Which is great. I love you. I'm lucky. But honey, I can't sleep," he explained, heading over. "You go to bed, I come down here. I do what I know. I tinker. I…" He sank down onto a rolling cart with a sigh. "Threat is imminent, and I have to protect the one thing that I can't live without. That's you. And my suits, they're… uh…"

"Tony, I know," I muttered, feeling just as tired as he was.

"They're part of me."

I sighed softly, heading over and draping my arms over his shoulders as I leaned my forehead against his and closed my eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Um, not quite the response I was looking for."

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Okay. Shutting up."

I shook my head slightly with a small mirthful smile as I pulled back and gave him a sad look. "Do you honestly think I've been sleeping?"

"Well, you come home and head right to bed, so I assumed—"

"You saw me yesterday. Look at me now. Do I look well-rested to you?"

He hesitated, eyes scanning my exhausted features as I lightly removed the contraption he had on his head.

"I've been having nightmares," I admitted, watching his reaction. "Of New York, of the aliens and getting trapped in that black void while you tumble down to Earth because I couldn't do anything to help."

"Jess you helped plenty," he argued.

"No, I didn't. Everyone there was fighting, and all I did was fight with a computer," I countered. "You and the Avengers… You might be people who are hurting just like any other humans on Earth, but you all have a way to fight back and I don't. Even with your suit, I don't have the skills needed to be anything more than just another possible casualty."

Tony grabbed my arms, voice stern. "You are _not_ a casualty. You were amazing that day and you helped us so much."

I only wished I could believe him.

"I'm having dreams of him too," I murmured, voice a breathy whisper and feeling Tony's arms go tense.

"He's _gone_, Jess."

I shook my head, tapping my temple. "Not in here, he's not. And I know that I shouldn't listen to anything he says, but when I think about New York… When I imagine what would have happened if I had changed something. If my mere presence there could have gotten you killed because of, of some divine intervention or because you got distracted by me, I don't know—"

"Jess, what are you talking about?" He questioned, me not having even realized what had tumbled out of my mouth while baring my feelings to him.

"I-I just… God, Tony, if you get hurt because of me… I don't know what I'd do."

"That's exactly my problem, Jess. Don't you see? I'm doing this _because_ I want to keep you safe," he urged.

"And I want to help you in any way I can in order to keep _you_ safe, but I can't keep getting pushed to the sidelines like in New York. I won't be able to handle it if something happens to you because I was too inexperienced or too unprepared to try and stop it. Not that I want to become a super-powered Avenger or anything, but… I don't want to just be the computer geek stuck in a tower watching everything around me burn because I'm incapable of helping. And that's what I _am_ in these nightmares. I'm watching you die, watching myself get attacked by my father because I couldn't stand up for myself or do anything to stop it." Tears began to well up in my eyes, though I pawed at my face desperately in a vain attempt to stop them and hide my miserable expression from Tony. "I can't be useless again. I-If I have to go through that again, I-I…"

"Hey, now. Hey. Sh," he shushed me, lightly grabbing my hands and kissing me lightly on the forehead. "I won't let that happen. I promise. Starting from now on, I'm going to help you help me, okay? No more hiding you away. It's… It's not what I want by any means, but I'm willing to push that aside for now. If I can't be there, I don't want you defenseless either. I'll show you what I know. Get you set up with a training regimen, maybe call in Natasha for some spars or something, okay?" He brushed away some stray tears. "How long have you been having the nightmares?"

"Since New York," I murmured. "I didn't want to tell you. I knew you were trying to work out your own issues. I-I assumed that's what you were doing, anyway, holed up down here."

He cracked a small smile. "And you were right about that, but we should have still talked earlier. How's this? Dinner every night. You and me, no matter what. We'll do early morning training—"

I groaned a little, but he lightly tapped my chin.

"You wanted this, remember? And I need to work around your work schedule. So, early morning training with me. Then, dinner and relax time at night. No tinkering, just the two of us in bed, possibly not sleeping, but in a good way."

I slapped his shoulder lightly. "Tony."

"What? I've got to get something out of this too, you know." He smiled, kissing me lightly. "And we can get started now if you want."

"I need a shower," I countered, stepping back

"Okay," he said, sounding mildly disappointed and I rolled my eyes.

"That was an invitation, Tony."

He beamed a smile, getting up to follow me. "Better."

With both of us finally able to sleep, things seemed to be looking up, only for nightmares to crop back up again. I woke first, taking some comfort in knowing Tony was actually beside me and lightly curling towards him as I tried to drift back off again and push away the flashing images of destruction, screams, and the half-burned image of Tony lying in a junkyard-looking place of some kind. My comfort didn't last long though, before Tony jerked in his sleep, a sharp intake of breath alerting me that he was undoubtedly dealing with a nightmare of his own. Slowly, so as not to startle him, I pushed myself upright and gently nudged his shoulder.

"Tony. Tony, it's okay. It's only a nightmare," I murmured, knowing better than to be rough with anyone while they were caught in the traps of a dream like he was. "Tony, come on. Wake up. You're all right, I swear. I'm here, Tony. To—"

A startled yelp escaped me when a firm metal hand grabbed my wrist, twisting it away from him and pinning it painfully to the headboard.

"J-Jesus Christ!" I shouted, staring back at the Iron Man suit that was being subconsciously controlled and trying to calm my racing heart. "Tony! Tony, you waking up would be nice, right about now!" I called out, hoping the slight worried edge to my voice might get his attention as my other hand lightly slapped at his shoulder.

Thankfully, it did, and he whipped out of bed, seeing the suit and holding out his hands.

"Power down!"

The suit let me go, powering down and with a slice of his fingers, fell to the ground in pieces as I held my wrist and caught my breath. I turned on the lights, struggling to push away the image of my father hovering over me in much the same way the suit had as Tony panted himself.

"I must have called it in my sleep. That's… not supposed to happen. I'll recalibrate the sensors. Can we just… Just let me… Just let me catch my breath," he said as I sagged and ran a shaky hand through my hair to try and relax. "Jess? You all right?"

"J-J-Just need a minute," I said, voice cracking slightly.

"Jess, I'm really sorry. You know I didn't mean—"

"I know," I muttered, trying to give him a small smile of reassurance, though I doubted it did justice, considering the heartbroken expression on his face.

"Jess, I'm so sorry. I understand if you want to sleep downstairs. O-Or if you want me to—"

"No," I stopped him, placing a hand on his arm, much to his surprise. "You said it, didn't you? Nothing's been the same since New York. For either of us. I-It, um… might take me a bit to n-not see my father hovering over me like that—"

"Christ, Jess. I didn't—"

I squeezed his arm to stop him. "_But_, I understand. You were having a nightmare. You were just trying to protect yourself, and honestly, I would have done the same, though probably not with the suit. You still would've had a nice big bruise though, if you'd tried to wake me. I might not have much combat experience, but I have a mean right hook."

Still, he hesitated. "You're not upset?"

"No," I answered, leaning against his shoulder and closing my eyes. "I just want to go back to sleep. That's the most sleep I've gotten in months. I want to enjoy it while I can."

"It could happen again," he muttered, though not really arguing as we both began to lay back down on the bed in each other's arms.

"And you'll fix it in the morning," I grumbled, head resting on his chest. "Now, shut up and sleep. And if you start to dream about it again, just imagine me saving the day this time."

He let out a short chuckle. "I'll try that."

And just as it seemed that everything was beginning to go right in the world, the Mandarin struck again. This time, hurting someone close to Tony and I. Happy was unconscious and in the hospital, leaving more than just a few very angry people.

* * *

Tony returned from the hospital after checking up on Happy and dealing with a hint of his anger towards the Mandarin by destroying a rather pushy reporter's phone. Jess was downstairs, settled on a chair and finally looking a bit more rested after the sleep they'd both gotten the night before—managing to sleep for a good few hours longer after Tony's suit problem.

"So? How is he?"

"Unconscious," Tony muttered, pulling on some gloves to work through the holographic images that Jess was compiling. "Not dead, but… not good."

Jess nodded solemnly, before throwing some files his way, knowing just how to distract him. "Jarvis and I have found as much as we could on this Mandarin guy, though there's not much to help us." She shot him a look then. "And I don't appreciate you giving the media our home address. Pepper saw what you did and put me on house arrest for today at the very least thanks to you."

"Sorry," he grumbled. "Let my anger get away from me."

"It's fine," she shrugged, looking back to her computer. "So long as you recognize it. And if I'm being honest, I might have very well have punched the guy if I were there, so you handled it better than me."

"Ooh, temper," he chided jokingly. "Wouldn't you get sued?"

She smirked. "Like I couldn't weasel my way out of a stupid lawsuit like that."

"Cheeky."

"Stubborn."

"And that's better how, exactly?"

"Shut up. Here's the crime scene," she offered, setting up the hologram so Tony could look it over, but he waved at her.

"Come on. You too."

Jess rolled her eyes but set her laptop aside and stood to join him in looking it over.

"Okay, what have we got here?"

"Not much concerning him," Jess explained, moving around some of the documents in front of them. "Name is some Chinese war mantel meaning 'advisor to the king,' so maybe there's someone above him? Or he's just serving a purpose to a metaphorical king."

"All right. And South American insurgency tactics. Talks like a Baptist preacher…"

"He's being theatrical," Jess concluded, and Tony nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's what I thought. There's lots of pageantry going on here," he agreed, closing those tabs as Jarvis explained the data behind what happened in the explosion where Happy was hurt.

"_The heat from the blast was in excessive 3,000 degrees Celsius. Any subject within 12.5 yards were vaporized instantly._"

"No bomb parts found in a three-mile radius of the Chinese Theatre?" Tony questioned, remembering the other reports from the Mandarin's little escapades.

"_No, sir._"

"Talk to us, Happy," Tony muttered as the scene added Happy into the mix, exactly as he'd been found.

Immediately, Tony and Jess could see that Happy had been looking and reaching for something and, upon following the man's line of sight, Tony pulled up the spot and began to shift through the virtual rubble.

"When is a bomb not a bomb, Jess?" He asked.

"You mean, when does a bomb leave no evidence of being a bomb?" She questioned. "When it's organic material? Combusts with the rest of it, leaving no signs of a casing? But with that much excessive heat, how could one smuggle something like that in? It'd have to be huge or using science that's far too advanced."

She looked over his shoulder as he pulled up a set of dog tags that Happy'd been looking at. "Military tags? But there weren't any victims in the military at that sight."

Tony climbed up onto a cabinet to get a better view of things, offering Jess a hand up as well. "Bring up the thermogenic signatures again. Factor in 3,000 degrees."

"_The Oracle cloud has completed analysis,_" Jarvis chimed in, showing a holographic map of the United States with bars showing where there'd been those signatures. "Accessing satellites and plotting the last twelve months of thermogenic occurrences now."

"Okay," Jess muttered, eyeing the map. "I'm a little confused where you're going with this now."

"Think, Jess. There was someone there who walked out of there. The tags show that much. And the only way they'd be able to get out of there alive is?"

"If they'd been through it before and knew how to get away."

"Exactly. Take away everywhere that there's been a Mandarin attack."

Jess's brows furrowed. "_And_ you've lost me again."

"If he'd survived this attack, then he's survived the others. We need to find the point where he _wouldn't_ have survived. The only way to find a ghost is to track down the body they left behind. That," he pointed to one of the signatures in Tennessee. Are you sure that's not one of his?"

"_It predates any known Mandarin attacks_," Jarvis replied, showing more information on the attack. "_The incident was the use of a bomb to assist a suicide._"

"Bring her around," Tony said, drawing the case over to look at it in more detail.

"_The heat signature is remarkably similar. 3,000 degrees Celsius._"

"That's two military guys," Tony muttered, eyeing the information.

"And that one guy looks familiar to me," Jess said, expression pinched. "I can't place it though."

"Ever been to Tennessee, Jess?"

"No."

"_Creating a flight plan for Tennessee_," Jarvis chimed in and Jess groaned.

"Really? I said we should go out of town to get _away_ from work, not add more to it. Don't you think we're stressed enough?"

"Well, do you want to figure out this Mandarin deal or not?"

Jess went to reply, only for the doorbell to ring, drawing their attention to a car that had pulled up into the drive on the security feed.

"Not the Mandarin?"

"Could be."

"Please. What psychopathic villain would just drive up to the house and ring the bell?"

"The good kind? And Jarvis, are we still at ding-dong? We're supposed to be on total security lockdown," Tony complained, smacking the cabinet in emphasis. "Come on. I threatened a terrorist. Who is that?"

"_There's only so much I can do, sir when you give the world's press your home address._"

"That's what _I _told him," Jess huffed, accepting Tony's help down off the cabinet.

"Don't you two start teaming up against me again," Tony chided. "We've talked about that."

"And it's still not going to stop us," Jess smirked, kissing him lightly as they headed up the stairs and Tony put on his suit. "I'll get the bags."

"Love you."

"I'd say it back, except I know this is just because it's getting you out of packing your own bag."

"You do it better."

Jess chuckled and headed upstairs as Tony allowed the woman knocking at his glass front door inside, halting her.

"Right there's fine," he said, lifting his faceplate with a frown. "You're not the Mandarin, are you? _Are_ you?"

The woman smiled with a bitter chuckle. "You don't remember. Why am I not surprised?"

"Don't take it personally. I don't remember what I had for breakfast. That's Jess's job."

"Gluten-free waffles!" Came a chime from just up the stairs.

"Thanks, Jess, but I was being rhetorical!" Tony called back, giving the woman in front of him a look. "Don't put that in a newspaper. I'll never hear the end of it."

"Okay, look. I need to be alone with you, someplace not here. It's urgent," the woman said, eyeing the glass windows uneasily.

"Normally, I'd go for that sort of thing, but now I'm in a committed relationship. It's—"

Two packed bags fell from the upper story, landing at his feet.

"—with her."

"Are you going to tell me who showed up?" Jess called out, heading back down the steps. "And don't look so shocked, I've started keeping bags set up for us when you decide to spontaneously travel. No packing required." She glanced at the woman standing by Tony—who'd shed his suit. "Hey."

"Uh, hey."

"Maya Hansen," Tony introduced. "Old botanist pal that I used to know, barely." Tony stepped over to Maya. "Please don't tell me there's a twelve-year-old kid waiting in the car that I've never met."

"He's thirteen," Maya countered, enjoying the shocked look on his face before stopping him. "_No_, I need your help."

"But what for? Why now?"

"Because I read the papers, and frankly, I don't think you'll last the week."

"I'll be fine."

Jess wandered over then, eyeing the two. "Sorry, we were on lockdown, didn't know we made exceptions for past… girlfriends, I'm assuming."

"She's not really—"

"No, not really. I-It was just one night." Maya tried to confirm with Tony.

"Yup."

Jess gave Tony a bland look. "Oh, yeah, 'cause that makes it better."

"It wasn't that great," Tony attempted to brush off, not wanting things between him and Jess to crumble after they just fixed things.

"Well, you saved yourself from dealing with this moron the rest of your life," Jess mused, giving Maya a look that said she was more than used to Tony's old girlfriends popping up now and again.

"What?"

"I'm sure," Maya chuckled.

"Shut up, Tony. You know I'm the only one capable of dealing with you. Now, is there anything else we need for going out of town? Or, well, anything else _you_ need?"

"Did you pack the bunny?"

"What? No!" Jess huffed.

"I want you to pack it."

"Absolutely not."

"The man says yes—"

"And the woman, who has more sense than the man says _no_. Let's just grab our bags and go."

"Great idea," Maya said, reaching for the bags. "Let's go."

"I'm sorry, that's a terrible idea. Please don't touch our bags."

"Really?" Jess questioned Tony. "This is _not_ how normal people behave."

"I can't protect you out there, Jess, so wouldn't it better to _take the rabbit_?" Tony urged as Jess rubbed at her temples, hating that this had become their secret code for the other Iron Man suit.

"Is, is that the rabbit?" Maya questioned, gesturing to the giant stuffed rabbit that had been moved inside the home. "Because that doesn't seem normal."

"Yeah, unfortunately," Jess said the same time Tony snapped.

"Yes, this is normal!"

"It's very normal," Jess repeated.

"It's a big bunny. Relax about it!"

"Calm down," Jess groaned at Tony. "If you had just gotten me the smaller one—"

"I got this for you."

"And I get that but thinking about the trouble regarding the size of it would have been smart. Can we _leave_ now?"

"Not without the rabbit!"

"Guys?" Maya called out then, stopping them from their little bickering match. "Can we, um…"

"What?" Tony asked, turning to see that she was looking at the news playing on one of the TVs.

"Do we need to worry about that?"

The image showed a helicopter's view of the home and a zoomed-in shot of some sort of missile heading right for the window. The group turned, seeing the missile just as it reached the living room, throwing them all back. Tony grimaced, but thinking on his feet, used the new upgrade of his suit to send it over to cover Jess. They all hit the wall—some harder than others—and for a split-second Tony blacked out, only to snap awake as adrenaline pumped through him, reminding him of the danger the three of them were in.

Three helicopters, armed with more weapons grew ever closer and Tony pushed himself upright slightly, glancing around to check on Maya, who was only unconscious. He then saw the ceiling about ready to collapse and braced for a hard hit to the head, only for the falling slab to bounce off his suit's metal plating and Jess to hover over him, lifting the face-plate with a glare.

"Saved you."

"I saved you first," he countered, earning an eye roll. "Like I said, we can't stay here and you're bringing the rabbit."

"God, can we _drop_ that as the code word?"

More missiles flew in and Jess cursed, grabbing Tony to prevent him from getting more injured as they were thrown off their feet.

"You good?"

He nodded, pushing her. "Go, I'm right behind you!"

She rushed forward, but just as she got across the room, the floor between them fell through, leaving Tony stranded on one side and her on the other. She stopped, about ready to get the thrusters to work, only for him to wave her off.

"Get Maya. I'm going to find a way around."

"Take the suit then. You're going to need it more than me," Jess offered, but he shook his head.

"No. Stop stopping. Get her and get outside. You'll be too slow if you're carrying her without the suit. Go!"

Jess winced, but nodded, slipping the face-plate back over her head and rushing for Maya. She powered up the thrusters when she grabbed the woman and got her safely out of the building before looking back. Another missile had forced the portion of the house over the cliffside to buckle, hanging precariously over the edge.

"Tony," Jess breathed, fear coursing through her and locking her body in place.

Thankfully, before she could try and go after him herself, Jarvis gave Tony the go-ahead and he summoned the suit back to him.

"Come on, come on," Jess breathed, anxiously fidgeting and looking for signs that Tony was doing all right as the helicopters continued to fire.

"Can't you do anything?" Maya asked her as one helicopter was taken down.

"He didn't give me the same upgrade as this suit," Jess explained hastily, panic rising. "H-He's got these sensors in his arms that summon it to him. The suit I have is in the basement. I have no way of getting to it to help him. He was going to make me sensors but hadn't gotten far enough to get them working. I'm useless right now!" She bit out, hating the way her stomach twisted dangerously as a second helicopter was taken down and crashed into the building.

"Why isn't he flying out of there?"

"I-I don't know. The suit wasn't fully powered up when I tried to use it just now. I-I think it's still a prototype. I-It's not ready for this sort of thing yet. He's not working on full power." Jess cursed, rushing forward into the chaos that was the collapsing home and right for the edge of where the house had been hovering over the ocean. "Tony, you ass! I told you to include oxygen supplies!"

She was just shouting nonsense at the ocean, desperately looking for any sign he was okay, only to see nothing. Fear settled into her gut as her eyes scanned the water for what felt like hours until her gaze shifted down to the cracked helmet in her hands. She pressed it to her forehead, silently wishing for Tony to just suddenly appear and say it was all a joke. Only for a hand to grab hers and turn her around. She didn't resist, not having the energy to as she as drawn into a hug.

"Oh, my God, Jess. Is Tony okay? What happened?" Pepper asked, causing Jess to look over at her with the most empty-looking expression she'd ever seen. "Jess?"

"I-I think… he's gone."

"No. He can't be gone. He… H-He just can't be."

But Jess didn't say anything more, just stared listlessly at the helmet as Pepper began to tear up and held her good friend who'd quite possibly lost the love of her life.


	16. Chapter 16

The helmet beeped, drawing my gaze to it as something akin to hope filled my chest and I pulled the helmet on, ignoring Pepper questioning me. The damaged device lit up and after a quick retinal scan, a message began to play, making my heart soar as Tony's voice spoke.

"_Jess, it's me. I've got a lot of apologies to make and not a lot of time. So, first off, I'm so sorry I put you in harm's way. That was selfish and stupid, and it won't happen again._"

"Y-You idiot. I _knew_ I would be in harm's way the moment I started dating you."

"_And I know you're probably arguing with me right now, but just listen for a moment, okay,_" Tony's recording said, making me chuckle ever so slightly. "_Also, it's Christmas time and the rabbit's too big. Done. Sorry. And I'm sorry in advance because I can't come home yet. I need to find this guy. You gotta stay safe, that's all I know. I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian._"

I shook my head. "What?"

But the message ended abruptly after that and I pulled the helmet off, schooling my expression carefully. I had to look like he was still dead. That was his plan. If the Mandarin believed him to be dead, then he could find a way to get to the guy without being noticed. So, I needed to play it up. Act like I was depressed and mourning. I'd been schooling my expression and lying since I was a child. I knew I was good at it and this was going to be the ultimate test. That, and I wasn't about to let Tony go through this alone. I might have no clue where he was, but I could help from my end. I _had_ to. He couldn't do this alone and I wasn't about to stand around idly while he tried. Even if it meant deceiving Pepper and the media and whoever else. I needed to be stealthy and careful, but most of all, I needed to use everything at my disposal without letting on what I was doing. And with Tony's lab destroyed, trying to do so was going to be the hardest part.

* * *

Tony dragged the useless Iron Man suit into the shed and dumped it haphazardly onto the floor, trying to regain some strength after having dragged it through the snow to this point. One look at the shed told him it was his best option to fix the suit and he heft it up onto a couch before collapsing beside it.

"Let's get you comfy," he muttered, adjusting its arms before putting its head on straight. "You happy now?"

He took only a few moments to rest before he moved over to the workbench and flicked on a lamp, grabbing a pair of pliers and preparing to start yanking out the shrapnel in his arm, only for a voice to stop him.

"Freeze!"

He put down the tool and eyed the young boy aiming a potato gun at him.

"Don't move," the boy commanded, and Tony lifted his hands.

"You got me. Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's going to diminish your FPS."

The boy lifted the gun and fired off a shot, breaking a glass not far away with pinpoint accuracy.

"And now you're out of ammo," Tony replied, lowering his hands and not taking the boys threat seriously now that the gun had been emptied.

"What's that thing on your chest?" The boy asked and Tony debated on answering him, but it was just a kid.

No threat to him, unless he talked, so keeping him entertained by the idea of a friendly guy in his shed would make better sense than petrifying the brat.

"It's an electromagnet. You should know. You got a box of them right here."

"What does it power?"

Tony stood up, flicking the lamp towards the Iron Man suit behind him and fully drawing in the kid's attention. The kid was at least semi-intelligent. Why not indulge him? Sure enough, the kid ditched his potato gun and went over.

"Oh, my God. That… That's… Is that Iron Man?"

"Technically, I am."

"Technically, you're dead," the boy countered, hitting him in the chest with a newspaper as he walked past to check out the suit.

Tony unrolled the paper to read the headline 'Mandarin Attack: Stark Presumed Dead' on the front page. "Valid point."

"What happened to him?" The kid asked, patting the head of the suit.

"Life. I built him I take care of him. I'll fix him." Tony tossed the paper aside upon seeing no mention of Jess or her reaction to the incident.

He'd hoped she'd gotten his message and knew he was okay, but he also knew she was clever. She'd find a way to communicate with him somehow, and the papers seemed like the best option. He could only hope that she wasn't planning on doing anything drastic in his absence.

"If I was building Iron Man and War Machine—"

"It's Iron Patriot now," Tony stopped him.

"That's way cooler!"

"No, it's not."

"Anyways, I would have added in the um, retro…"

"Retro-reflective panels?" Tony finished for him, a little surprised by the extent of the kid's intelligence.

"To make him stealth mode."

"You want a stealth mode?"

"Cool, right?"

"That's actually a good idea. I think my girlfriend mentioned it once and I forgot about it. She probably hates me for that. I really should listen to her more often." He winced though when the kid pulled off one of the suit's fingers. "Not a good idea."

"Oops," the kid muttered sheepishly.

"What are you doing? You're gonna break his finger? He's in pain. He's been injured. Leave him alone."

"S-Sorry," the kid murmured, fiddling with the broken part and Tony lightened up, knowing what Jess would be saying to him if she'd been there to scold him.

She was always better with kids then he was, though she'd be quick to deny it.

"Are you? Don't worry about it. I'll fix it. So, uh, who's home?"

"Well, my mom already left for the diner, and dad went to 7-11 to get scratchers," the kid replied, eyes downcast. "I-I guess he won because that was six years ago."

"Hm," Tony hummed, a part of him feeling sympathy for the kid. "Which happens. Dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it. Here's what I need."

The boy looked up, surprising Tony yet again by not giving any complaint about what he'd just said. _Tough kid, or he's used to it._

"A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone, the pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of town, a big spring and a tuna fish sandwich."

"What's in it for me?" The kid challenged.

"Salvation. What's his name?"

"Who?"

"The kid that bullies you at school. What's his name?" Tony hit the mark, judging by how the kid grew sheepish once more.

"How'd you know that?"

"I've got just the thing," Tony said, opening up the Iron Man suit and pulling a part from its chest, holding it out to the kid. "_This_ is a piñata for a cricket. I'm kidding. It's a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top, it discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass. Deal?" He kept it out of the boys reach. "Deal? What do you say?"

"Deal," the kid said, taking it.

"What's your name? Harley. And you're…"

"The mechanic… Tony. You know what keeps going through my head? 'Where's my sandwich?'" He teased the kid, who rolled his eyes and got up to get one for him. "And if you ever meet my girlfriend, don't tell her I made you fetch me things or gave you that. She'll chew my head off."

"For real?"

"For really real."

The boy shivered, before bounding out into the cold, making Tony shake his head with a small smile. _Hope you're doing okay, Jess. Don't get into anything stupid._

* * *

I drove Maya down the freeway in my car, head aching, but not enough so that I felt I couldn't drive properly. Pepper had tried to convince me otherwise, but I was quick to refuse that and her offer to stay at her home.

"Why were you at Tony's place? What was so important that you needed to talk to him someplace secure?"

Maya was quiet for a second before giving in. "I think that my boss is working for the Mandarin. So, if you still want to talk about it, I suggest we get to someplace safe."

I was glad I hadn't listened to my gut instinct to jerk the wheel or we'd very surely be flying off the cliff edge at that.

"You… think your boss works for the Mandarin? And you're… a botanist?"

She rolled her eyes. "What I actually am is a biological DNA coder running a team of forty out of a privately funded think tank."

Her words echoed in my head. The terms, the meaning behind them.

"Your boss, could he be… Aldrich Killian?"

"Aldrich Killian," she said the same time I did, pinning me with a look. "How did you…"

"Your words. 'Think tank' is what he called A.I.M. He met with me and Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries to try and get us to use his project. He explained what it was briefly, but we rejected the offer. It was too close to being something weaponizable for comfort and I didn't like the way he spoke."

"You… denied him funds because of the way he _spoke_?"

I groaned. "Look, I used to be a lawyer, and in my job, words held a lot of meaning and showed you a lot about the person using them. So, when I have a guy come up to me dodging 'immoral' restrictions and saying that human minds are destined to be 'upgraded'? Yeah, that tells me that he has no empathy for humans other than himself and is a power-hungry asshat who quite possibly has a grudge against my boyfriend." I winced, playing up my act. "E-Ex boyfriend."

"I'm sorry," Maya murmured, but I shook my head silently praising my acting skills as I moved on.

"No, it's fine. Because if what you said is true, then that over-excessive attack on the manor just now makes sense. If you want someone dead who gives you their home address, you snipe them while they're asleep. You do it stealthily and then make it look like a message to others who challenge you. What he did? That was overkill. That was _not_ just accepting a challenge, that was revenge in the biggest way possible. That was sloppy."

"You don't mean Tony might be alive?"

_Shit._ "No… No, he couldn't be. The suit he had, it… it was a prototype. It wasn't ready for any combat and… he never did listen to me when I suggested better sealing a-and and oxygen supply. It's… It's impossible that he made it out of there. I want to be hopeful but… but even I know when to accept something like that."

Her hand brushed my shoulder and I struggled not to jerk away from her touch. I couldn't do physical contact right now. Not from anyone except Tony. I was too tense, body on red alert. It was like I was back there with _him_ and everything made me want to swing out in defense, but I kept hold of myself as she muttered another apology and we drove on in relative silence.

* * *

Tony looked over the memorial site where the heat energy spike had occurred, brows furrowed in thought as the boy he was with sat on the floor.

"Six people died including Chad Davis," Tony said, getting affirmatives from the boy. "Yeah. That doesn't make sense. Think about it. Six dead, only five shadows."

"Yeah. People said these shadows are like the marks of souls going to heaven," the boy murmured. "Except the bomb guy. He went to hell, on account of he didn't get a shadow. That's why there's only five."

"Do you buy that?"

"It's what everyone says."

_Religion. Always mucking up the facts._

"You know what this crater reminds me of?"

"No idea. I'm not… I don't care," Tony said, hoping the little fan of his didn't bring up what he thought he was going to.

"That giant wormhole in um, in New York. Does it remind you?"

"That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it," Tony said sternly, breath already getting short at the thought.

"Are they coming back? The aliens?"

"Maybe. Can you stop? Remember what I told you, that I have an anxiety issue?" Tony said, hating that he was showing this weakness to a kid instead of having Jess to help him through it.

He hadn't mentioned the anxiety attacks to her when they talked and now, he wished he had.

"Does this subject make you edgy?" The boy asked innocently.

"Yeah, a little bit. Can I just catch my breath for a second?"

"Are the bad guys in Rose Hill?" The boy pressed, making his deep breathing even harder. "Do you need, do you need a plastic bag to breathe into? Do, do, do you have medication?"

"Nope."

"Do you need to be on it?"

"Probably."

"Do you have PTSD?"

"I don't think so, but my girlfriend would know better than I would since she has it. God, why am I sharing that with you?"

"Are you going completely mental? I can stop. Do you want me to stop? Do you want me to stop—"

"Remember when I said to stop doing that?" Tony snapped, unable to keep his calm anymore as the panic rose. "I swear that you're gonna freak me out." He pushed himself up. "Ah, man, you did it, didn't you? You happy now?"

"What did I say?" The kid questioned as Tony took off in a run, though already out of breath he wasn't getting far. "Hey! Wait up! Wait! Wait!"

Tony fell back to the snow at the corner, wheezing. "H-How does Jess h-handle these?"

"What the hell was that?" The boy asked, as clueless as ever while Tony pressed handfuls of ice to his face to try and stop his skin from being overbearingly hot.

Tony threw the snow at the kid, calming down. "Your fault. You spazzed me out."

The kid smiled, obviously knowing what he'd done as Tony put back on his hat.

"Okay, back to business. Where were we? The guy who died. Relatives? Mom? Mrs. Davis? Where is she?"

"Where she always is."

"See, now you're being helpful."

Tony had gotten lucky upon finding the man's mother inside the bar, but he could feel that something big was about to happen. The woman he ran into with the burn scars warned him as much and when he'd found out that Mrs. Davis had already been waiting for someone, that suspicion only grew. Then, of course, the woman returned and pinned him to the table and if he hadn't known any better, she was very much _not_ who she said she was. So, being on the safe side as he was cuffed and tossed side so she could deal with the sheriff, he nodded for Mrs. Davis to hide the files she had before she got caught up in something too much to handle and just in time.

The woman glowed.

People screamed as she killed the sheriff and used another man's gun to kill more people, while Tony took that chance to rush outside and try to draw her attention away from the people fleeing.

"Hey, hot wings. You want to party? Come on. You and me. Let's go." He rushed away from her only to spot another very familiar face, glowing as he stepped out of a car.

Tony took off running as the man drew a gun, but the shot he fired missed thanks to Harley hitting him with a snowball. Tony threw himself through a window as the woman was accosted by another man with a firearm, only to take the weapon and aim it at Tony the moment he stood. Tony slid over a counter just in time to not get shot, cuffed hands now in front of him as the woman came closer. Except, she was quick and closer than he thought, grabbing him and smacking his head harshly on the wall before flipping him to the floor with a sadistic smirk.

He managed to flip them both onto their feet before he had him pinned and pressed her heated hands against his head. He was quick to react though, spinning her around and attempting to choke her with his cuffs only for her skin to melt the metal. Glad the cuffs were off, he rolled an open jug of cooking grease across the floor and used the remains of the heated cuffs to set it aflame, in an attempt to stop her. He knew it wouldn't do much, so had a back up plan just in case, taunting her.

"You walked right into this one. I've dated hotter chicks than you and the one I'm currently dating? Pft, please. You've got nothing on her."

"That all you got?" The woman smirked after tumbling through the flames. "A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner?"

"Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography."

Tony rushed out just as the dog tags in the microwave sparked and the entire kitchen went up in flames—the only thing protecting him being a freezer door just outside the building. He wobbled away, spotting the woman hanging from the powerlines, only for a loud crack to draw his attention to the suddenly falling water tower. He'd stopped one fiery woman, and now there was a guy he had to deal with. He dove desperately across a tree yard, but a fence stopped him and with the rush of water, he was soon trapped with his foot caught in a bit of twisted metal. And to make things worse? Harley had been caught by the guy too.

"Hey, kid? What would you like for Christmas?" The man joked; a heated arm wrapped tightly around Harley to hold him down.

"Mr. Stark, I am so sorry."

"No, no, no, no. I think he was trying to say, 'I want my goddamn file.'"

"It's not your fault, kid," Tony said, trying to get the kid to calm down for part C of his plan. "Remember what I told you about bullies?"

The kid's eyes widened, and he pulled out the part Tony had given him, closing his eyes and thrusting it towards the man holding him, blinding the guy and giving the kid a chance to run off.

"You like that, Westworld?" Tony mocked, trying to keep the man's attention on him. "That's the thing about smart guys, we always cover our ass."

Tony lifted his hand, aiming the thruster he'd been working on right at the man and firing it. The man flew back, and Tony quickly ripped off the useless thruster, prying himself out of the twisted metal as quickly as he could before the man could get up, reaching down and grabbing the car keys for the man before heading back to the bar to grab the files.

"You're welcome," the boy huffed when he came back out.

"For what? Did I miss something?"

"Me, saving your life."

"Yeah, A: saved you first. B: thanks, sort of. And C: if you could do someone a solid, don't be a yutz, all right? Just play it cool. Otherwise, you come off as grandiose. Girlfriend told me that. Good advice."

"Unlike you?" Harley mocked him. "Admit it. You need me. We're connected."

"What I need is for you to go home, be with your mom, keep your trap shut, guard the suit, and stay connected to the telephone. Because if I call, you better pick up, okay? Can you feel that? We're done here. Move out of the way or I'm gonna run you over. Bye, kid."

He couldn't risk someone that young getting hurt because of him. And as he thought of Jess and how many times she was going to risk her life because of him, he sighed and rolled down the window.

"I'm sorry, kid. You did good."

"So, now you're just gonna leave me here, like my dad?"

"Yeah…" Tony paused, seeing what the kid was doing. "Wait. You're guilt-tripping me, aren't you?"

"I'm cold," the boy pretended, and Tony joined in.

"I can tell. You know how I can tell? Cos we're connected." He drove off then, not wanting to see the kids' heartbroken face as he left because, despite that last moment between them, he knew the kid meant those words.

As he drove though, looking over those files, he nearly groaned at the obvious sitting right in front of him. _A.I.M. Dammit, Jess._

* * *

"So? Explain," I said, grabbing a drink from the mini bar in the hotel where we were staying and taking a quick glance out the curtains.

"What happened? Fun fact. Before he built rockets for the Nazis, the idealistic Wernher von Braun dreamed of space travel."

I was only half-listening to Maya talk, suspicion having welled up in me about her and everything else. I was already out in the open thanks to the media at Tony's house. It was well-known that I was alive after the incident and if Aldrich was after revenge on Tony, then it was only common sense that he'd come for me too. I didn't want to be caught unawares. Taking Maya with me might have been a bad idea, but she was a valuable source of information, and I wasn't about to let that go. If she was a mole for Aldrich—which I was almost certain of—then he would be here soon, and I needed a plan of escape. _Which is why I picked a room on only the second floor with a balcony facing the front, and haven't even tried to order room service. Anonymity or not, I can't trust anyone right now, let alone nosey hotel staff._

"See, we all begin wide-eyed. Pure science," Maya went on, not realizing that I wasn't really listening. "And then, the ego steps in, the obsession and… you look up… you're a long way from shore."

My gaze finally flicked back over to where she was seated on the bed.

"See, now Pepper might say you're being too hard on yourself, but I'm different than her," I said, giving the curtains another brief glance as I slid my fingers under it to ensure the latch to the sliding glass door was unlocked at the sight of a sleek black car out front. "I've been through some things, and I know better than to coddle people with kind words. You made a mistake, now you have to get over it, move on, and do your best to fix what you fucked up. Others can't do that for you. They can try, but in the end, it doesn't help you with whatever you're dwelling on. You chose to give your research to a think tank."

"Yeah, but Killian built that think tank on military contracts."

"And you had the option to back out then and there," I argued, frowning. "Don't go blaming him, when you're the only one accountable for your actions. Tony did the same thing with his company. He used his genius to make weapons for the military until he got the same wake-up call that you're having. And what did he do? He got up off his ass and did something about it _without_ dragging Pepper or anyone else into it unless they chose to involve themselves. Pepper runs his company now, with no connection to his new side job as Iron Man. And I'm involved with him because I chose to involve myself. Now, you?" I stepped over towards her, not a shred of sympathy in my gaze as I eyed her surprised expression. "You need to do the same. You want out? You want to stop him? Then, get off your ass and do something. You have the tech, the brains, figure it out."

"You're… You're definitely not what I expected."

I rolled my eyes, eyes flickering to the door as someone knocked and called out about room service, hand reaching behind my back. "Yeah, again, I've been through some things and I've learned the hard way that relying on others isn't always the smartest decision. It's why Tony and I get along. Neither of us expects the other to get involved without asking first, and we both tend to handle things on our own. My psychiatrist had a field day trying to work with that. Now, you've got five seconds to either get the hell out of here and prove to me that you are at least the smallest bit trustworthy, or I'm not responsible for what happens next."

"W-What?"

"Five," I counted down, silently praising her on her clueless expression as the doorknob began to turn. "Four… Three… Two…"

Her eyes went wide as I pulled a gun out from the waistband of my pants and aimed it at the door as I stepped closer to it.

"One."

"Don't shoot!" She shouted, just as the door opened and a hand whipped out, Killian grabbing the barrel of the pistol and tearing it from my hands before slamming me against the wall with a hand on my throat.

I choked at the tight grip, attempting to pry his hand off me only to find him far stronger than humanly possible. _He's altered himself somehow. A.I.M.?_

"Hi, Jess," he hummed, looking over at Maya as she stood. "So, you want to tell me why you were at Stark's mansion last night?"

"I'm trying to fix this thing and I didn't know you and the master were gonna blow the place up."

"Oh, I see. So, you were trying to _save_ Stark when he threatened us."

"I've told you, Killian, we can use him."

"C-Completely untrustworthy. A-As expected," I spat, glaring at her as my hand slipped back behind my back again—the other keeping up the pretense that I was struggling in Killian's hold.

Maya sent me a confused look—probably about why I took her with me if I knew she wasn't trustworthy—but continued. "Look, if we want to launch product next year, I need Stark. He just lacked a decent incentive. Now, he has one."

"Y-You're too obvious," I scoffed, cracking a smirk and making Killian frown.

"Obvious?"

I let his wrist go and waved my hand at Maya. "T-Talkative coworker, t-taking the weakest link hostage i-in order to draw T-T-Tony out. B-Basic bad guy m-moves. You w-watch too many movies."

Killian eyed me for a second, then looked to Maya. "What is she talking about?"

"I don't know. She's insane if you ask me."

"I-I told you," I growled. "I've been through some shit."

I then whipped out a switchblade and jabbed it into Killian's shoulder, enticing a cry of pain and allowing me to escape his grip and bolt for the balcony.

"You _bitch!_" He roared as I jumped over the balcony's edge, cringing at the strain it put on my shoulders to slow my descent and nearly rolling my ankle when I landed.

I took off running though, throwing myself into the nearest alleyway and doing what I could to lose any possible tails Killian would soon send after me. I knew I wouldn't last long. He had too many resources that I didn't have the slightest idea about and if he'd already started using A.I.M. to make superhumans, I knew I didn't stand a chance. My only option was to try and warn Tony and I was more than grateful that I'd asked Pepper for some time alone at Tony's in order to grab Tony's emergency phone—Jarvis included.

"Jarvis?" I panted into the receiver, pausing briefly to catch my breath behind a dumpster. "Get a hold of Tony, _now_."

"_Miss Norris, I'm not sure he's—_"

"Don't you joke with me, Jarvis. He's not stupid. He wouldn't leave me without some form of contacting him in an emergency and that's you. Every damn suit is connected to you, and even though it might not be flying, the first thing he'd fix is you. Now, contact him, or I'm making you a robotic body just so I can put Dum-E's dunce cap on it, make it wear a maid outfit, change its voice to an old English woman's and make it serve me like a slave."

"…_Yes, miss._"

_AIs, honestly._

* * *

Tony drove down the road in the dark while on a call with Harley, who he'd managed to get his suit up and talking.

"Harley, tell me what's happening. Give me a full report."

"_Yeah, I'm still eating that candy. Do you… Do you want me to keep eating it?_"

"How much have you had?"

"_Two or three bowls._"

"Can you still see straight?"

"_Sort of._"

"That means you're fine. Give me Jarvis and don't tell my girlfriend I said that either. Goes for you too, Jarvis. How are we?"

Jarvis came through the phone then. "_It's totally fine, sir. I seem to do quite well for a stretch, and then at the end of the sentence, I say the wrong cranberry._"

Understanding the problem, albeit confused about it, Tony nodded to himself.

"_And sir, you were right. Once I factored in available A.I.M. downlink facilities I was able to pinpoint the Mandarin's broadcast signal._"

"What are we talking? Far East? Europe? North Africa? Iran, Pakistan, Syria? Where is it?" Tony asked, guessing based on the video footage he'd seen.

"_Actually sir, it's in Miami._"

"Okay, kid, I'm gonna have to walk you through rebooting Jarvis' speech drive, but not right now. Harley, where is he really? Just look on the screen and tell me where it is."

"_Um, it __**does**__ say Miami, Florida._"

"Okay, first thing's first. I need the armor. Where are we at with it?"

"_Uh, it's not charging._"

Tony slammed on the breaks and pulled over, voice getting strained as his breath shortened.

"_Actually, sir, it __**is**__ charging, but the power source is questionable. It may not succeed in revitalizing Mark 42_," Jarvis chimed in.

"What's questionable about electricity?" Tony snapped. "All right? It's my suit and I can't… I'm gonna… I don't wanna… Oh, God, not again."

"_Tony?_" Harley called out in concern as Tony got out of the car and leaned up against it on the ground, fighting to control his breathing. "_Um, my-your computer says you have a call coming in._ _Are you having another attack?_"

"A-A-A call? Impossible. From who."

"_From Miss Norris, sir,_" Jarvis answered instead. "_She was quite adamant I put her through._"

"Oh, not now. T-This is a r-really bad time, Jarvis," Tony complained, clenching his fists and closing his eyes as he breathed heavily.

"_I, uh… I answered it,_" Harley muttered apologetically.

"You _what_?" Tony hissed before Jess's voice came over the phone.

"_Tony, that you? Listen, we've got a bit of a situation here._"

"Jess, I think that much was obvious when my house was _blown up_," Tony grit out, earning a pause on the other end of the line.

"_Tony, what's going on? What's wrong?_"

"Nothing's wrong."

"_He's having another attack,_" Harley piped up, making Tony scowl at the phone.

"Shut up, kid. I told you not to say anything."

"_Hold on. An attack? Like an anxiety attack? About what? And what do you mean, another one?_"

"_He said it's because I said New York before, but I didn't even say it this time._"

"Harley, I said shut it," Tony snapped, but Jess ignored his treatment of the boy for now.

"_Right, I'm not even going to ask about the kid, but Tony we really should have talked about this before. If you're having anxiety attacks—_"

"You're _not_ sending me to some psycho nut-job to pick at my head."

"_I never said I would, but it's something we need to discuss. What are you doing to handle it?_"

"Nothing. Everything. Um, d-deep breathing exercises and frustration."

Jess sighed. "_Okay, look. That doesn't always help. What set you off, do you know? Couldn't be New York this time around. So, what's doing it?_"

"I don't know. We were just talking," he grumbled, though he was already beginning to feel a bit better just by speaking with Jess.

"_We were talking about the suit,_" Harley chimed in again. "_It said, um… It said it wasn't charging enough to get it moving._"

"Oh, God, what am I going to do?" Tony murmured, and Jess came in again.

"_You're going to do what you always do, Tony,_" she said calmly, trying to relax him and keep him from noticing the slight urgency in her tone as she spoke. "_You're going to use that big head of yours, make something, and track this guy down. Although, I'm only assuming you know it's Killian behind all this?_"

"Y-Yeah, but how did you…"

"_While I may not be as clever as you, your little friend who showed up was very talkative. She mentioned working under him and believing Killian was working for the Mandarin. Then, go figure, Killian himself shows up at the hotel we're at, and she spills that she's trying to stop something, make some sort of patent of their research and use you to help them do it._"

Tony sat up straighter. "Me?"

"_Yes, you. You've got more brains than they do, so of course, they need you. There's just one problem. I may have upset him a bit._"

Tony pushed himself up, worry beginning to fill him for Jess now. "What do you mean? What happened? You said Killian is there?"

"_Was, past tense. He was hoping to do the whole evil villain thing. Kidnap the girl to draw out the hero or whatever, but I'm just a bit paranoid right now and it didn't __**quite**__ work out well for him._"

"Jess, _what happened_?" Tony emphasized.

"_I may or may hot have threatened him with a gun and them stabbed him in the shoulder when he had me pinned to a wall._"

"_So cool,_" Harley murmured.

"_Yeah, see the good thing is, I got away doing that. The bad thing is, I probably just pissed him off._"

"Pissed him off? Jess, you _stabbed_ him." Tony paused. "Good on you."

"_Shut up, I know,_" she replied with a hint of a smile in her voice. "_Bigger problem is, I doubt I've got much time left. I've got no resources and nowhere to go without endangering someone. I've just poked the proverbial bear who undoubtedly dabbled in his own project. I only have bits and pieces, but he's been making some sort of superhumans using the unused portion of the human brain and whatever Maya was studying._"

"Cell regeneration," Tony explained simply, mind racing. "And you're right about the superhumans. I've already bumped into a couple. They're sort of… lava people? Super-heated skin and apparently, highly regenerative."

"_Lucky me. But I just called to give you a heads up and to tell you not to do anything stupid because of me. They're going to get me, I know that, but I swear to God that if you fly down here without a foolproof plan to stop this guy because he has me, I'm going to make you watch as I paint every Iron Man suit pink and strut it around the world for everyone to see._"

"_Ew_," Harley grumbled as Tony held the phone a bit tighter.

"I won't let them hurt you, Jess."

"_You might not have a choice, and if you blame yourself, I'm going to find something much worse to torture you with than pink suits. Now, listen to me. I'm going to do my best, so I expect you to do the same. Don't let anything like some anxiety attack stop you from kicking this idiot's ass. You understand me?_"

Tony cracked a smile. "Loud and clear."

"_Good. I… I love—_"

"Jess?" Tony called out, worry making his skin crawl as Jarvis replied.

"_Her call was interrupted, sir, and the phone number is now unavailable._"

"Shit," he cursed, remembering Harley was on the line. "Don't repeat any of those words around your mother, especially what Jess said."

"_What happened? Is she in trouble?_"

"Oh, more than that, buddy, and I've got a plan."


	17. Chapter 17

Tony was very tempted to make up something in order to rush to Jess's aid after her phone call was cut short, but she had made a very valid point. He needed a plan, and if he could get a hold of the Mandarin, then he would surely have more control over Killian's actions. On top of that, after what he'd heard about Jess's past, the woman was easily capable of handling herself, no matter what she believed on that matter. Sure, she could use a little more tactical training in hand-to-hand combat for those she fought with who had skills of their own. However, she had much more stamina and pain tolerance than he ever did and could take quite a few hits without slowing down at all—something Natasha had mentioned back when they had sparred previously.

Despite all that, she _did_ tend to have a bit of a mouth on her when not being held to the standards that her job as a lawyer did. So, he didn't doubt that she'd end up giving Killian quite the headache by the time he did finally show up to get her safe. That's what worried him. He knew how people reacted when angry—as did she, though her dealings with her father seemed to have changed the way she handled it—and he could only hope that she kept herself from upsetting him too much. He wasn't looking forward to seeing what sort of shape she'd be in if she didn't.

Point was, he needed a plan and he was coming up with one while on his way to Miami. A few stops to a hardware store and a place where he could create his plans, and he was soon breaking into the mansion where the Mandarin was staying. And he had to admit, the tools he'd come up with turned out to be quite handy against the guards. He'd taken out almost all of them without raising the alarm and now had one of their guns as he entered the suite and reached for the blanket, he hoped had the man underneath. He whipped it off only to startle two scantily-clad women.

He shushed them as a toilet flushed nearby and slipped behind the headboard of the bed as the Mandarin came out. Tony finally gave in, a moment later out of frustration—stepping out, gun raised.

"Hey!"

"Bloody hell, bloody hell," the Mandarin muttered, hands up.

"Don't move."

"I'm not moving. You want something? Take it, although the guns are all fake because those wankers wouldn't trust me with the real ones."

"What?" Tony asked, confused by everything he was seeing and hearing.

"Hey, do you fancy either of the birds?"

Tony frowned—as did the women mentioned. "Heard enough. You're not him. The Mandarin, the real guy." Tony armed the pistol. "Where! Where's the Mandarin! Where is he!" He shouted, losing his temper.

With so much at stake, he couldn't be wasting his time with this lunatic.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He's here. He's here, but he's not here," the man replied, sitting down and gesturing to himself. "He's here, but he's not here."

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated. Hey, it's complicated."

"It is."

"It's complicated."

"Uncomplicate it. Ladies, out," Tony shooed the women away. "Get out of the bed. Get into the bathroom. Sit," he ordered the man, helping the women out and latching the door only to fire off a shot near the man when he'd tried to crawl away.

"My name's Trevor. Trevor Slattery," the man—Trevor—said once reseated.

"What are you? What are you, a decoy? You're a double, right?"

"You mean like an understudy? No, absolutely not."

Tony lifted the gun at the man, who flinched away.

"Don't hurt the face! I'm an actor!"

"You got a minute to live. Fill it with words," Tony said sharply.

"It's just a role? The Mandarin, it's not real."

"Then, how did you get here, Trevor?" Tony demanded, forcing the man to shuffle back uneasily when he stalked forward, only to have to give the man a little push to give him the information he needed and not the man's life story about drug abuse.

"Then, they approached me about the role, and they knew about the drugs."

"What did they say? They'd get you off them?"

"They said they'd give me more. They gave me things. They gave me this palace. They gave me plastic surgery. They gave me things."

Trevor began to snore then, and Tony frowned.

"Did you just nod off? Hey." Tony kicked him and the man snapped awake, continuing where he left off.

"Oh, and a lovely speedboat. And the thing was, he needed someone to take credit for some 'accidental explosions.'"

"He? Killian?" Tony asked.

"Killian."

"He created you?"

"He created me."

"Custom-made terror threat."

"Yes, yes. His think tank thinked it up," Trevor confirmed, getting up and grabbing a drink as he mimicked the Mandarin's lines. "Uh, the pathology of a serial killer. The manipulation of Western iconography. Ready for another lesson? Blah, blah, blah."

Tony sat down, trying to wrap his head around it, refusing the offered beer.

"Of course, it was my performance that brought the Mandarin to life."

That set Tony off.

"Your performance? Where people died?"

"No, they didn't. Look around you. Costumes, green screen," Trevor waved around. "Honestly, I wasn't on location for half this stuff. When I was, it was movie magic, love."

"I'm sorry, but I've got a best friend who's in a coma and he might not wake up," Tony said, standing. "And my girlfriend's just been possibly kidnapped too. So you're gonna have to answer for that. You're still going down, pal. You under—" Tony stopped, sensing the man behind him and knowing he was there by the look on Trevor's face.

Tony whipped around but was easily knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he was tied to a bed frame standing up and Maya stood not too far away, typing on a computer before facing him.

"Just like old times, huh?" She hummed.

"Oh, yeah. With zip ties. It's a ball. Where's Jess?"

"It wasn't my idea," Maya said, not answering him.

"Okay, so you took Killian's card."

"I took his money."

"And here you are thirteen years later, in a dungeon."

"No."

"Yeah."

"No, you're in a dungeon. I'm free to go."

Tony shook his head, muttering a small "yeah" as she sighed and got up.

"A lot's happened, Tony, but I'm close. Extremis is practically stabilized."

"I'm telling you, it isn't," Tony snapped before lowering his voice, trying to get her to see. "I'm on the street. People are going bang. They're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself."

"Then, help me fix it," she pressed, holding up a piece of paper with his handwriting on the back.

"Did I do that?"

"Yes."

"I remember the night, not the morning. Neither of which Jess would be proud of. I heard she was with you. Where is she?"

"You don't remember?"

"Is this what you've been chasing around? I can't help you. You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people. Now, look at you. I get to wake up every morning with someone who… still has their soul. A broken, battered soul, but it's still there. After everything she's been through, she's managed to hang onto that, while you just waste away down here." He eyed Maya for a moment, who watched him back, feeling his words bore into her much like Jess's had the previous evening. "Get me out of here, help me find Jess. Come on."

She slowly turned away though, as Killian stepped into the room.

"You know what my old man used to say to me? One of his favorites of many sayings, 'the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.'"

"You're not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing, are you?" Tony asked cheekily.

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony? I'm here to thank you. You've given me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation." Killian approached him. "If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? For the first… twenty minutes? I actually thought you'd show up. And in the next hour, I… I considered taking that one-step shortcut to the lobby. If you know what I mean."

"Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out what happened to the first mouse," Tony quipped.

"But as I looked out over that city," Killian went on, ignoring him. "Nobody knew I was there. Nobody could see me. No one was eve looking. I had a thought that would guide me for years to come. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since. Right?" He asked Maya who gave a small nod. "You simply rule from behind the scenes, because the second you give evil a face—a Bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin—you hand the people a target."

"You're something else," Tony muttered, seeing the whack job under the man's bravado.

"Anyway, the point is," Killian continued after waving off some comments about Trevor. "Ever since that big dude with a hammer fell out of the sky, subtlety's kind of had its day."

"What's next for you in your world?" Tony asked, glad that the mention of Thor wasn't a trigger for another anxiety attack or that Jess had managed to finally help him past them.

"Well, I wanted to repay you the selfsame gift that you so graciously imparted to me."

Killian rolled the three marbles across the ground where they stopped and popped up a holographic image of Jess strapped down with boiling red skin and a pinched expression of pain stretched out across her face.

"Desperation," Killian hummed. "Now, this is live. I'm not sure if you can tell, but at this moment the body is trying to decide whether to accept Extremis or just give up. And if it gives up… I have to say, the detonation is quite spectacular. But until that point, it's really just a lot of pain."

Tony's gaze couldn't help but drift to Jess's face, seeing her mouthing curses under her breath at Killian, before her eyes snapped open in a glare aimed at the camera undoubtedly filming her. He almost cracked a smile, despite the glowing of her eyes. She still had plenty of fight in her and wasn't giving in just yet. And as he promised, he had to do the same. He owed her that much.

"We haven't even talked salary yet," Killian mused, heading over and grabbing Tony by the throat, skin glowing the same as the other people he'd seen who'd been changed. "What kind of perk package are you thinking of?"

"Let him go," Maya said, drawing Killian's attention to her as she brought a needle to her neck.

"Maya."

"I said, let him go."

"What are you doing?"

"1200ccs. A dose half of this size, I'm dead," she threatened as Killian sighed softly.

"It's times like this my temper is tested somewhat. Maya, give me the injector."

"If I die, Killian, what happens to your soldiers? What happens to your product?"

"We're not doing this, okay?"

"What happens to you? What happens if you go too hot?"

Killian turned to Tony as though he was considering letting the man go, only to pull out a gun and shoot Maya himself.

"The good news is, a high-level position has just been vacated," Killian said without a hint of remorse as Tony's sad gaze drifted to Maya.

"You are a maniac," he murmured, unable to believe how much the man had changed and how it was quite possibly his fault.

"… _if you blame yourself, I'm going to find something much worse to torture you with…"_

"_Don't let anything like some anxiety attack stop you from kicking this idiot's ass. You understand me?"_

Tony took a breath and let it out slowly, letting Jess's words keep him calm as Killian argued that he was a visionary who was going to do yet another showing of the Mandarin that evening. He was going to have to be quick about this. Or, well, as quick as that stupid watch he bought would be. The alarm on it went off, alerting his bodyguards to check it out as Tony set up phase two of his plan.

"Careful there, it's a limited edition," he told the one guard as the man shook the watch, before looking to the other guard. "Hey, uh, Ponytail Express. What's the mileage count between Tennessee and Miami?"

"832 miles," he answered, surprisingly quick.

"Very nice."

"I'm good like that. Can you, uh, stop that?"

The other guard dropped the watch.

"You break it you bought it," Tony said just as the man's foot went down on it.

"I think I bought it."

"Okay, that wasn't mine to give away. That belongs to my friend's sister. And that's why I'm gonna kill you first."

"What are you gonna do to me?" The guard questioned, not really threatened by Tony in his strung-up situation.

"You'll see."

"You're zip-tied to a bed."

Tony lifted his hands. "This."

Nothing happened so he tried again.

"That."

The guards eyed him.

"Trust me, you're gonna be in a puddle of blood on the ground in five, four, three—Come on! Two…"

"How did _we_ get this shift?" The guard questioned his coworker.

"All right, I'm going to give you a chance to escape," Tony said, desperately wishing his suit would move a hell of a lot faster.

He didn't doubt that Killian was going to move Jess. Like she'd said, Killian was pulling the typical villain moves. He'd want to keep her close and as far out of Tony's reach as possible. So, if his suit would just show _up_…

"In five, four, bang!"

"Wow," they said unenthusiastically.

"You should be gone by now. You should've already been gone."

"I am just beyond terrified," one muttered sarcastically.

"Here it comes. Three, four—"

"Shut up."

"Five, four, three, two, one!" Tony said quickly just as the gauntlet of his suit came flying through the window and attached itself to his hand. "Told you."

He fired off a shot, knocking back the guards and untying himself before attacking the second one just as his suit's leg flew through the other window and he grabbed the guard's gun, eyeing said glass.

"Where's the rest?"

More guards started to head down to investigate the commotion and he fired another shot to keep them back, flying and shooting haphazardly with only two of his thrusters. He was doing well though, killing or knocking out all the guards except the last one who surrendered.

"Honestly, I hate working here. They are so weird."

Tony wiggled his fingers, letting the man run off after dropping his weapon, before heading out as the rest of his armor started to show up and attach to him.

"Ah, better late than never."

He caught the faceplate before it could slam into him and let out a sigh out in the open air.

"Ah, it's good to be back. Hello, by the way."

"_Hello, sir,_" Jarvis greeted as he spotted the army helicopter flying away with the suit of the Iron Patriot behind it.

When he went to try and fly after them though, his suit sputtered and failed.

"Ah, crap."

So, he started walking just as a call came in.

"_Tony._"

"Rhodey, tell me that was you in the suit."

"_No. You got yours?_"

"Uh, mm, kind of. Main house, as fast as you can. There's somebody I'd like you to meet."

* * *

Once dealing with the guards in Trevor's little penthouse, Rhodey aimed his gun at the startled man.

"You make a move, I break your face."

"I never thought people had been hurt. They lied to me," Trevor explained, rather poorly.

"This is the Mandarin?" Rhodey questioned.

"I know. It's, it's embarrassing," Tony apologized.

"Hi, Trevor. Trevor Slattery," Trevor offered a hand, but Rhodey smacked it away. "I know, I'm shorter in person. A bit smaller. Everyone says that. But, um, hey. If you're here to arrest me, there's some people I'd like to roll on, imme—"

"Here's how it works, Meryl Streep," Tony cut him off. "You tell him where Jess is and he'll stop doing it."

"Doing what?"

Rhodey pressed the hot gun barrel to the man's ear.

"Oh, I get it. Ow, that hurt. I get it. I get it. I don't know about any Jess, but I know about the plan."

"Spill."

"Do you know what they did to my suit?" Rhodey asked.

"What? No. But I do know what's happening off the coast. Something to do with a big boat. I can take you there. Whoa! Olé, olé, olé, olé!" He shouted to the soccer game going on in the background, startling Rhodey.

"Tony, I swear to God, I'm gonna blow his face off."

"Oh, and this next bit may include the vice president as well. Is that, is that important?"

"Somewhat."

"Yeah, a little bit," Rhodey scoffed and it didn't take long before they were zooming down in a speedboat.

"If he's right about the location, we're twenty minutes from where Jess is," Tony explained to Rhodey, eyes sharp.

He and Jess had only just begun fixing things and to have this happen now was the worst possible timing. He would owe her a million times over for this, and her plan to have combat training was beginning to look like a must have. _Along with giving her the sensors for the suits as well, if she even wants to at this point… I don't know if I can handle something like this happening again. If __**she**__ can. _He pushed the thought aside, for now, knowing that he'd have to think about it later once he'd gotten her back.

"But we also have to figure out this vice president thing, right?" Rhodey reminded him.

"Right. I wonder who I'm calling right now. Oh, that's the vice president."

Rhodey rolled his eyes as Tony made the call. The vice president having agreed to send help, but Rhodey gave Tony a look as they got closer to their destination.

"We gotta make a decision. We can either save the president or Jess. We can't do both."

Tony didn't want to be the one who make that call. He knew who he'd chose in an instant, but her words kept ringing through his head.

"…_I swear to God that if you fly down here without a foolproof plan to stop this guy because he has me…"_

"_I won't let them hurt you, Jess."_

"_You might not have a choice…"_

"_Sir,_" Jarvis chimed in. "_I have an update from Malibu. The cranes have finally arrived, and the cellar doors are being cleared as we speak._"

"And what about the suit I'm wearing?"

"_The armor is now at 92%._"

Tony removed the wires charging it. "That's going to have to do."

* * *

Up in the air, the president had just been stuffed into the Iron Patriot, leaving Chad Davis doing one last check to make sure there was no one else who may cause him trouble. He heard voices coming from one of the rooms and peaked out the window only to get thrown across the plan. A smirk lit up his features as his eyes whipped around in search of Iron Man, who snuck up behind him and slammed him into the wall.

"The president?" Tony demanded to know, hand poised to blow the man's face off if he didn't receive the answer. "Now."

"He's not here," Chad replied, heating up his hand and grabbing Tony's arm. "Try the jet stream? Speaking of which, go fish."

Chad blew off one of the plane's doors, sending people flying out of the plane as Tony tried to hit him, only to get stopped by a heated hand again. Tony began to fold, only to push away and fire a blast through Chad with a beam from his chest piece.

"Walk away from that, you son of a bitch," Tony bit out before taking off after the people. "How many in the air?"

"_Thirteen, sir,_" Jarvis answered.

"How many can I carry?"

"_Four, sir._"

He grabbed the first person he could, trying to calm her as he thought up a plan. "Slow down, slow, down. Relax. What's your name? Heather?"

The plane exploded up above, sending the woman into hysterics.

"Listen to me. See that guy?" He asked, aiming for the next person he could. "I'm gonna swing by, you're just gonna grab him. You got it?"

"What?"

"I'll electrify your arm, you won't be able to open your hand," Tony explained. "We can do this, Heather."

Tony started having everyone grab people as he flew around, before managing to slow them down enough that they could land safely in the ocean for later pick up. Of course, when he tried to fly the suit away, it was smashed to pieces by a passing semi-truck, making his holographic screen glitch.

"That came out of nowhere. Wow."

"Give me some good news, man," Rhodey begged, checking in on him inside the boat.

"I think they all made it."

"Thank God."

"Yeah, but I missed the president."

Rhodey sighed. "You couldn't save the president with the suit, how are we gonna save Jess with nothing?"

"Uh, say, Jarvis? Is it that time?"

"_The House Party Protocol, sir?_"

"Correct," Tony smirked, glad he'd come up with this plan ages ago, despite the look Jess had given him at the time when he'd mentioned it. _I'm coming, Jess._

* * *

I snapped awake, not appreciating that the first face I saw while not riddled with pain was Killian's and I reacted as such.

"Come closer so I can tear that stupid look off your face," I snarled. "Oh, wait. That's just your face."

"Hello to you too," he smiled.

"Fuck you, asshat," I spat, body coiled tensely as heat welled up in my body that I ignored. "He'll never help you, you know, even if you have me."

Killian stepped closer and I growled threateningly. "Having you here is not just to motivate Tony Stark. It's, um… Well, it's actually more embarrassing than that."

"I swear to God, if you've got some stupid infatuation with me, I'm about ready to shove a nice foot up your ass to help put your brain back into place so you can rethink that answer."

"You're here as my, um… trophy."

I gave him a cold stare. "Again, fuck you. And I think you'll find, I'll be the rudest, most annoying trophy you could ever think to have because I don't put up with people like you who think they can _own_ someone. I've dealt with that once and I'm not about to have it happen again without a hell of a fight."

A suit landed then, the Iron Patriot standing before us and for a second, hope filled my chest—ebbing away the heat that had started to settle there. Then, it opened up and the President of the United States of America stumbled out. _But now, there's a suit within distance of me._ A hint of salt brushed over my nose and my gaze drifted to the door the president had come through. _Ocean. We're on a boat. Good. No place for him to run. When I get out of these manacles…_ Killian went over to talk to the president and I closed my eyes, focusing on the new heat in my body and lightly nudging it. I grimaced, the energy still new to me and not exactly used to it or the burning sensation it brought me, but it shifted ever so slightly, so I pressed on as sweat ran down the back of my neck. _Come on, come on. Just move to the manacles. They're undoubtedly used to heat, but not __**focused**__ heat. If I could just get this stupid stuff to work, then I can get in that suit. I can help Tony. I can fight._ And when they put the president back in the suit and left, I wasn't discouraged. No. I still had one thing on my side that had never once failed me.

Surprise.


	18. Chapter 18

**Ending of this kind of starts the beginning of "Avengers: Age of Ultron"**

* * *

Tony and Rhodey had just infiltrated the oil tanker and spotted the president in the Iron Patriot suit hanging up above it all.

"He's strung up over the oil tanker. They're gonna light him up, man," Rhodey breathed out.

"Viking funeral. Public execution," Tony explained in understanding.

"Yeah, death by oil."

They rushed further into the ship, climbing up the stairs as Tony hesitated with the pistol he wielded. He'd used it before, but now Rhodey was calling the shots and without his suit, he was more than happy to follow, but had some obvious hesitations about going forward.

"Is your gun up?" Rhodey asked, making Tony snap it back up.

"Yup. What do I do?"

"Stay on my six, cover high and don't shoot me in the back."

"Six, high, back. All right," Tony replied, the two of them ducking out of the way as someone spotted them and fired off shots.

Tony fired back, emptying his clip and hitting nothing but the edge of the light that was near the guard.

"You see that? Nailed it."

Rhodey shot him a look. "Yeah, you really killed the glass."

"You think I was aiming for the bulb? You can't hit a bulb at this distance."

Just to prove him wrong, Rhodey leaned forward and shot out the light bulb.

"I'm out. Give me, give me, give me—You got extra magazines?"

"They're not universal, Tony," Rhodey sighed with a roll of his eyes. _How is this man a genius hero again?_

"I know what I'm doing, I make this stuff. Give me another one. One of yours."

"I don't have one that fits that gun."

"You've got like, five of them," Tony argued, before giving up and turning. "Here's what I'm gonna do. Save my spot. Ready?" He poked his head over the top quickly.

"What'd you see?"

"Too fast. Nothing. Here we go." Tony poked his head over again, slower, and spotting the people spreading out over the ship. "Three guys, one girl, all armed."

Rhodey and he both poked over the top and aimed their guns, except it was painfully obvious how outmatched they were and Rhodey groaned.

"God, I would kill for some armor right now."

"You're right. We need backup."

"Yeah, a bunch."

Tony began to smile then. "You know what?" He nodded at the incoming light in the distance and Rhodey gave him a disbelieving look as not just one, but _every_ Iron Man suit Tony had made came flying over.

"Is, is, is that…"

"Yup."

"Are those…"

"Yeah. Merry Christmas, buddy. Jarvis, target Extremis heat signatures. Disable with extreme prejudice."

"_Yes, sir,_" Jarvis replied through all the suits.

"What are you waiting for? It's Christmas." Tony spread his arms after signing a cross over his chest. "Take them to church."

The suits began to fight, one getting defeated and causing the crane they were on to shake.

"Jarvis, get Igor to steady this thing."

The largest, most reinforced suit rushed under the crane and steadied it as Rhodey gave Tony a disbelieving look.

"This is how you've been managing your downtime, huh?"

"Everybody needs a hobby. Some of these are Jess's designs though, I just put them together."

"You're kidding. She made a suit?"

Tony grinned. "I only take the best. Heartbreaker, help Red Snapper out, will you?" He suggested, sending a suit to help out one who was struggling with a few of the men on its back.

The resulting explosion of the suit crashing into a dozen oil drums sent debris flying. Namely, into the container area holding Killian and Jess. Tony summoned a suit and stepped back into it with a smile.

"Nice timing."

"Oh, yeah. That's awesome. Give me a suit, okay?" Rhodey asked, bouncing on his feet eagerly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. They're only coded to me. I've been meaning to make Jess coded too, but…"

"What's that mean?"

"I've got you covered."

Rhodey frowned as he took off, only for another suit to land in front of him.

"_Good evening, Colonel. Can I give you a lift_?" Jarvis asked, grabbing him and flying him off.

"Very funny."

As the suits fought, Jarvis chimed into Tony's suit.

"_Sir, I've located Miss Norris._"

"About time," Tony said, following the directions and stepping into the room where she'd been.

He went to move some metal that hovered over her, only for it to shift and her to shout at him.

"Stop! Put it down, you dolt! Put it down!"

Tony lowered it and leaned down, faceplate flipping up. "See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends."

Jess shot him a look. "Don't you start. I knew she was suspicious from the get-go and would have been _fine_ if Killian wasn't all superhuman. God, you're such a jerk," she muttered, sagging slightly and out of breath as he reached out.

"Yeah, we'll talk about it over dinner."

"W-Where's Killian?" Jess asked, reaching for him.

"Don't worry about that, just reach."

Jess stopped. "No, no, no. You find him, and you find him now, before he comes after you. I'll be fine."

"Jess, we're not going to argue this right now."

"You idiot! He was in this room! He could be here right now! This is a trap! You need to go! Go, now!"

Tony went to argue further, only for a heated hand to punch through the floor below Tony and paw at his chest piece. Killian pulled himself out of the ground, giving Jess a look.

"Is this guy bothering you?"

"You piece of s-shit," Jess snarled, eyes flaring crimson before fading as she grimaced and Killian advanced on Tony's prone form.

"Don't get up," Killian said, sitting on Tony's chest and taking a heated finger to just above his chest piece. "Ooh, is it hot in there? Stuck? Do you feel a little stuck? Like a little turtle cooking in his little turtle suit."

"Tony," Jess muttered, slowly pawing her way towards them.

"She's watching. I think you should close your eyes. Close your eyes," Killian said. "Close your eyes. You don't want to see this."

Killian reared back an arm to attack Tony, but a blade snapped out of Tony's wrist and sliced off his hand, making the man groan in pain and get up.

"Yeah, you take a minute."

The severed limb melted through the floor, dropping Jess down further as she cursed, half-hanging until the platform she'd landed on began to move. Tony had fallen to the ground outside and ditched his damaged suit, seeing Jess's situation and quickly running to try and get to her. He was chased for maybe half a second before the guy was dragged off by another suit, and he turned his attention back to Jess as she clung to a pipe and eyed the end of the track that the platform was heading too.

"Jarvis, give me a suit, _right now!_" Tony demanded, rushing after her as she neared the edge.

The first suit that he had almost jumped into was shot away last minute and he groaned as he continued to run.

"Oh, come on!"

* * *

I cursed, trying to will up the heat gain and cringing in pain. Something was changing again. I'd been able to control the heat minutely for a while, but when I was knocked out of the restraints, I'd immediately felt my energy zapped. Now? It was slow going. I was trying to nudge it towards the piece of metal that had my lower half pinned to the platform, but my head ached, and my vision swam. It was as if I had the worst fever imaginable and was trying to run a marathon on top of that. Then, I saw Tony.

"Jess, I got you. Relax, I got you."

Again, I had to ask. "K-Killian?"

"I have to focus on you right now, Jess. There's no time."

I groaned. "Tony, you _have_ to deal with him first or he's going to keep interfering!"

"Jess, I can't reach any further and you can't stay there. All right?" He called out, hand reaching out for me from a few feet away. "You've got to let go. You've got to let go! I'll catch you, I promise!"

I hesitated, feeling the heat doing it's work on the metal and giving me the chance to let go if I wanted to. And just as I chose to reach out for him, something snapped overhead, flipping me off the container and throwing me downward.

"No!" Tony shouted, trying to grab my hand and just barely missing as I was sent falling to the fiery boat below.

* * *

Tony landed back on a safe platform, mind stuck on the image of Jess falling to her death even as Killian stepped up to join him.

"A shame. I would've caught her," the man said, making Tony's furious gaze latch onto him as all that anger built up in him.

They ran at each other and Killian aimed a punch, but Tony slid underneath him and into a suit that appeared for him to step into. The two began to fistfight; Tony landing hard hits and Killian stripping bits of the suit off him before shoving him down a level. Killian when to slam a heated fist through his chest, but Tony was quick and ejected, getting caught by another suit before he could hit the ground. He then grabbed Killian, bringing him up to another level as the man superheated himself even more—picking up speed and hitting Tony harder than before. Tony was nearly punched off the platform, only to use his thrusters to stay up and land even more hits on Killian.

Killian grabbed his leg, cutting it off, but not before Tony could get his actual foot out of the suit. More punches were exchanged before Killian flipped him to the ground, preventing him from firing off a shot with a smirk.

"Well, here we are, on the roof."

Killian went to cut him in half, but the eject saved Tony again, dropping him down a level, but Tony spotted a light heading in.

"_Mark 42 inbound._"

"Well, I'll be damned. The prodigal son returns," Tony murmured, only for the suit to crash into part of the railing and crumble to pieces. "Whatever."

"You really didn't deserve her, Tony," Killian mocked him. "It's a pity. I was so close to having her perfect. Though I must say, it's a bit curious of you to chose someone like her. The intelligence, I understand, but her looks? I thought you were more into the busty blondes."

Killian landed on the same level as Tony, who hastily held out his hands.

"Okay, okay. Wait, wait, wait. Slow down, slow down! You're right. I don't deserve her. Here's where you're wrong. She was already perfect. She was gorgeous. And if you didn't see that within the first few minutes of knowing her, then I'm sorry. You don't deserve to even _think_ about her."

Tony pointed at Killian, sending the scattered bits of his suit at the man and pinning him to a wall.

"Jarvis, do me a favor and blow Mark 42."

"No!" Killian shouted before the faceplate muffled him and Tony slid down a support beam as the suit blew Killian up.

Tony jumped then, as it began to crumble even more, landing in a suit that wasn't entirely complete and bouncing off the hard steel of the ship. He managed to somehow land mostly safe on the deck of the ship as debris landed around him, the head of Mark 42 landing not two feet away. His hearts raced, fearing Killian was still in there and able to regenerate somehow, but the faceplate fell off to reveal emptiness and he relaxed for maybe half a second. There was the sound of metal groaning and a grunt, drawing his attention to said man as he stumbled out of the burning wreckage of the crane. Tony couldn't believe the man was still alive after all that, trying to crawl back as the stumbling charred man wandered closer.

"No more false faces," Killian hissed. "You said you wanted the Mandarin, well you're looking right at him. It was always me, Tony. Right from the start. _I_ am the Mandarin!"

Then, a steel beam slammed into his face, knocking him back. Jess stood there out of breath and skin glowing red, leaving Tony sitting on the floor in shock.

"I've got nothing."

A suit flew over then, and Tony realized something worrisome. Jess had Extremis. His suits were told to destroy anything with that heat signature. _Oh no._

"Jarvis, subject at my 12 o'clock is not a target. Disengage!"

But his earpiece was on the ground and Jess dodged a blast from the Iron Man suit with a glower at Tony.

"What? What are you mad at me?" Tony questioned as she headed over, fearing for what she'd do while capable of frying him in seconds.

She bounced off his knee though, slamming a fist through the Iron Man suit that flew overhead and slamming it to the ground. She then shoved her arm in the suit and used the metal fist to knock back an advancing Killian. A large bullet skid across the ground, catching her eye and she kicked it at Killian before using a blast from the suit to destroy the man all with an air of thinly veiled annoyance.

"Honey?" Tony called out cautiously, drawing her attention to him and he could see how it took her a second to get a hold of herself and realize where she was and what had happened.

"That was… v-violent," she muttered, giving the roaring flame that used to be Killian a glance and looking back to Tony.

"You just scared the devil out of me," Tony said with a shake of his head. "I thought you were…"

"Dead, why? Because I fell 200 feet?" She huffed, running a hand through her soot-covered hair. "I feel like shit."

"Same, though I think the scale of who's more of a hot mess is tipping your way a little bit. Why don't you dress like this at home, hm? Sports bra, the whole deal."

Jess sent him a glare, clad in only a pair of slim-fit jeans and a sports bra, and looking ready to set _him_ on fire. "If you come near me to try and coddle me right now, I _will_ turn you to ash."

Tony cracked a slight smirk, getting up and approaching her anyway. "No, you won't."

"I will."

"Won't." He took her hand, eyeing her. "See? Not hot."

Jess gave him a look, calming down but still uncertain. "I can set people on fire now."

"Yeah."

"Is that going to be okay?"

"No. You're in a relationship with me. Everything will never be okay," Tony joked, earning a small smile in return. "But if you want, I think I can figure out a way to get you back to normal. I almost had this twenty years ago when I was drunk. I think I can get you better. That's what I do. I fix stuff."

"Like your fifty suits?" Jess teased in return.

"Well, I think I can shave them down a little bit. Jarvis, hey," he called out, tapping his earpiece.

"_All wrapped up here, sir. Will there be anything else?_"

"You know what to do."

"_The Clean Slate Protocol, sir?_"

Tony hesitated and Jess reached out but paused before taking his sleeve instead of grabbing his arm—still unsure about her abilities.

"You don't have to do this, Tony. I don't mind the suits. They're _you_."

Tony raised a brow. "So, I can keep them?"

Jess winced. "A-A couple? I don't mind a couple, but you're at what? Forty-seven?"

"Forty-two."

"Right. That's… That's a bit much."

He smiled, pulling her into an embrace and watching as a majority of his suits began to explode.

"I'm sorry," Jess murmured in his ear and he lightly shook his head, kissing her temple and just feeling glad that she was safe.

"Don't. I've got all their blueprints at home. I can just remake them."

Jess lightly smacked his back with a choked-up chuckle, coercing a smile out of him again.

"And I'll tell you what. We'll make all the new ones together. A pair, like before since I'm pretty sure yours blew up when the helicopters destroyed the house. And anything mine can do, so can yours. Although, I'm warning you now, the implants are a bit painful." He paused. "Okay, so far? You like it?"

"Better than the rabbit."

* * *

Tony had been working on getting my firepower sorted out, struggling with it a bit and convinced that getting drunk again would help him get the last bit of the equation down, before I stopped him. I didn't mind the whole firepower thing, explaining to him that it wasn't so bad since I could control it for the most part. He still wasn't convinced but came up with a solution that worked for the both of us. An inhibitor was placed just above my heart, managing the heat so that it would be impossible for me to end up like the other men and women who had been turned into bombs. I could still take hold of these hidden abilities when I needed to, but otherwise, I was just as normal as I was before—other than a slight base temperature increase.

And it worked out for Tony too, who had almost backtracked on his promise to get me better skills to protect myself. This gave me something to keep me safe should I not have a suit, and after some doing, he set me up on a training regimen too, in order to get the skills I needed to be able to use these abilities to the best that I could.

In turn, he chose to finally have the surgery that would remove the shrapnel constantly trying to kill him. Once recovered, he drove me back to our destroyed mansion to pick up what few things he could get from the basement—including a nearly wreck Dum-E that I insisted upon—and from there we proceeded to move into the Avenger's building he'd set up to give Bruce somewhere safe to live and do his research. Bruce, of course, hadn't been thrilled to become Tony's sounding board, but balanced him out enough that Bruce didn't go insane.

Thing was, Tony and I weren't being idle. Tony was working his hardest to get the building set up with the latest tech for S.H.I.E.L.D when they summoned the Avengers again, and I had proposed my own idea that he had put me in charge of. So, while Tony tinkered—with help from myself and Bruce—I created a new business: Damage Control and Insurance. Tony always said I looked at the small details, and upon losing our house due to a firefight, I realized that we'd done that to so many just by fighting as supposed heroes. I knew it wouldn't look good if the heroes weren't viewed as such by the rest of the people, so I quit my job working with Pepper to peruse this.

A clean-up crew to pick up after our messes safely in conjunction with S.H.I.E.L.D. but monitored by myself, Tony, Bruce and Thor (who knew more about alien tech than we ever could). And then an insurance company that wouldn't charge an arm and a leg in order to protect people's livelihoods when a superhuman goes plowing through their apartment or causes physical damage while trying to keep people safe. It was hard to get started, but Tony—who knew more about business than I did—was quick to help once he understood what I was doing and how it could help. I had to be careful though. As much money as Tony had, I was doing what I could to not rely on his funding and running a business without being fully healthy myself (I still had _flareups_ on occasion that he and Bruce were trying to work out a solution to) things weren't going to be easy. And it only got worse when the nightmares returned.

Loki's staff, a woman engulfed in red, so much fighting, and a jewel. A jewel that burned like the sun and saw through the smallest of defenses. One nearly human and one not human enough. Merging, twisting into something new. And the anger that spread through the people. Time and time again the dreams woke me up, never fading but leaving me with more questions than I could answer and telling Tony wasn't an option, because I was beginning to understand what they were, and I feared what telling anyone would do.

_I'm an unknown factor that could save or destroy everyone just by merely existing._

And when Fury called to get everyone together to go on a mission to get Loki's scepter from a research facility, it was like a rock settled in my gut. Everyone's lives were on me.


	19. Chapter 19

Loud explosions and gunshots echoed through the snowy forest as the Avengers burst through the defenses facing them. Captain America rode his motorbike through various groups of men while the Black Widow drove Hawkeye through the forest with exceptional skill. Iron Man and Jess flew through the trees and helped take down more people as Thor swooped past and destroyed an armed guard tower, soon passing a vehicle to the Hulk as he raged through the snow. Tony made a signal at Jess then, flying up to the building they were heading towards while she stayed to help the others, only for his suit to bounce off a force field.

"Shit!"

"Language," the Captain complained. "Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs?"

"_The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield,_" Jarvis replied, looking through a satellite that Tony, Jess, and S.H.I.E.L.D had gotten set up. "_Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken._"

"Loki's scepter must be here," Thor pressed over the comms as he fought a group of men. "Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last."

"Oh, it's definitely here," Jess said, landing beside him and throwing a man away who had attacked his back. "I can feel it. Is it weird that I can feel it?"

"You _did_ say you spoke with it before," Natasha replied. "Maybe you just have a connection with it?"

"Like I'm not special enough," Jess complained, her blue suit glowing red when one of the soldiers tried to grab hold.

Needless to say, he screamed as his hands were burned before Jess threw him away like the others.

"When am I getting a cool superhero nickname?" She complained.

"When you earn it," the Captain sighed.

"Oh, right. Cause I haven't done enough for you already," she scoffed. "Duck!"

Thor ducked down and she shot a blast over his head at the man aiming a bazooka at them. Thor, of course, smiled.

"I appreciate all that you do for us, Miss Jess."

"I _told_ you. Just Jess, thanks."

"Of course, just Jess."

Jess groaned, pointing an accusing finger at him. "We're definitely having a spar when we get back, so I can pound my name into that thick skull of yours."

"I look forward to another spar!" He beamed, jutting a fist out and slamming it into an approaching man's face.

"'At long last' is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha complained, in the midst of a fight herself.

"Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise," Clint sighed, destroying a bunker with an explosive arrow.

"Wait a second," Tony said. "No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language?'"

"I know," the Captain drawled, flipping off his bike and throwing it at an oncoming vehicle. "Just slipped out."

"_Sir, Miss. The city is taking fire,_" Jarvis chimed in then.

"Well, we know Strucker's not gonna worry about civilian casualties," Tony drawled. "Send in the Iron Legion."

"And do what I said, please," Jess called out. "Herding them isn't going to work. Not in this country. They're dealing with enough shit already—"

"Jess," the Captain chided, but she ignored him.

"—Use the protocols for war-torn areas. Protect. Don't shoo with words. Use actions. They'll respect us more if we're keeping their homes safe without the need to remove them."

"_Enacting your protocols, Miss Norris._"

Jess sighed. "Honestly, am I going to have to scold you for the 'Miss' thing too?"

"We have an enhanced in the field," the Captain said then, drawing everyone's attention the same moment Natasha spoke up as well.

"Clint's hit! Somebody want to deal with that bunker?"

"Hulk's got it!" Jess chimed in. "I'm heading your way now to try and evac him. How's the wound?"

"He was clipped in the side."

"I can cauterize it if he wants."

Clint groaned. "_Fine_, fine. Just do it."

"Be there in a second."

"Stark, we really need to get inside," the Captain called out.

"I'm closing in… Jarvis, _am_ I closing in? Do you see a power source for that shield?"

"_There's a particle-wave below the north tower._"

"Great. I want to poke it with something." And with a tactically aimed missile from his suit, Tony brought down the shielding around the building. "Drawbridge is down, people."

"The enhanced?" Thor questioned the Captain as they met up.

"He's a blur. All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."

"Guys, Clint's hit pretty bad," Jess chimed in through the comms, wincing when Clint grunted in pain at her heated hand on his side. "We're gonna need evac for him. I've cauterized it, but he needs medical."

"I can get Barton to the jet," Thor replied. "The sooner we're gone the better. You and Stark secure the scepter."

"Copy that," the Captain hummed as a tank rolled in.

"Looks like they're lining up."

"Well, they're excited," he smiled as he lifted his shield for Thor to hit, sending electricity at the tank and people lined up before them.

"Thor, I can get him to the jet if you want," Jess said then.

"No. We might need you here."

"Big shocker," she mused as the Captain chimed in as well.

"No, he's right. You need to get in with Stark. Watch his back and get what you two can. We've already encountered an enhanced on the field. There might be more."

"Enhanced?"

"Like you," Tony replied. "Superhuman."

"Oh, joy. More fire people?"

"Not quite," the Captain said. "The one we encountered was just a blur."

"Super speed then? Isn't that exciting. I'll leave Clint with Natasha then for you to pick up, Thor."

"Coming now. Find the scepter."

"And for gosh's sake, watch your language," Tony teased the Captain, who sighed.

"That's not going away any time soon."

Tony flew through one of the building's windows and was immediately shot at, making him sigh as well. "Guys, stop. We gotta talk this through." He stunned them with blunt missiles. "It was a good talk."

"No, it wasn't," a soldier complained.

"Well, you shot first," Jess hummed, flying in behind Tony. "Better hurry. If they're smart, they're trying to wipe the records."

"Right." Tony moved further in and stunned the scientist trying to do just that, stepping out of his suit with the command to run on sentry mode.

Jess raised a brow, lifting her faceplate, but not stepping out of her own suit. "I _am_ right here."

"Which is where I want you to stay, with me." He smiled, and she rolled her eyes as he moved to a computer and plugged in a USB drive with Jarvis. "Okay, Jarvis. You know. I want it all. Make sure you copy Hill at HQ."

"They'll be hiding more files," Jess mused, looking around. "You want me to…"

"If you would. Call me over when you find them. I'm still a better hacker than you."

"No need to rub it in. Jarvis, scan the room please."

"_The wall to your right. I'm reading steel reinforcement and air current._"

"Ooh, never mind, Jess. I want that," Tony chirped, bounding over to the door and pressing his hands to the stones. "Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door. Yay."

The stone gave way and Jess scoffed. "You're such a child."

"Secret basement? What's not to love?"

"_We have a second enhanced, female. Do not engage,_" came the Captain's warning through the comms and Jess hummed.

"Good to know. Wish he gave more details though."

"_Guys, I've got Strucker._"

"Yeah, we got something bigger," Tony muttered as we stepped out into the lab and looked up at the large whale-like alien creature from New York's wormhole event.

Jess cursed. "Shit. I knew… God, I knew working with them through my business wouldn't be smart. Remind me to cut off all ties with any government agency unless I have a person I trust within them."

"I could have told you that from the start. I think Fury's your best option, though look where that's gotten us. And watch your language or the Captain's going to get all upset."

"_I __**can**__ hear you, you know._"

"Exactly."

Tony moved further into the base as Jess eyed the equipment around them.

"Tony, I don't like this. This is a lot of tech. Dangerous tech."

Tony was only partially listening as he stepped up to Loki's scepter, informing Thor he'd found it. Neither of them seeing the woman who followed just behind him. She slipped him into a nightmare of his own making, a plan of action settled in her mind before sneaking away. She started to come up behind Jess, only for the woman to stiffen and whip around. It was only the quick thinking of her other twin that saved her from being spotted. Said blonde made a move to interfere, but she stopped him.

"We're just gonna let them take it?"

She just smiled though, allowing Tony to summon a part of his suit and grab Loki's scepter now that he was out of his nightmare. When her gaze shifted to Jess though, the smile fell. Surely, the woman hadn't known she was there. It wasn't possible. So, how was it that at just the right moment, Jess had turned around? Something about the woman unnerved her, and she didn't plan on sticking around to find out what.

* * *

Tony flew the jet as the others made sure Clint was stable and I yawned in my seat over by where Bruce was listening to opera music in order to remain calm after being the Hulk for a while. Natasha headed over soon enough though, and she sat across from us, making Bruce remove his headphones.

"Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever," she complimented him.

"Just wasn't expecting a Code Green," Bruce muttered.

"If you hadn't been there, there would have been double the casualties. My best friend would have been a treasured memory."

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear."

"How long before you trust me?"

"Bit of a loaded question, don't you think?" I mused, peering open a tired eye to glance between the two. "He'll trust you when he gets around to it. Pushing him won't help that process."

"It's… It's not you I don't trust," Bruce muttered, though he gave me an appreciative glance.

"Thor, report on the Hulk," Natasha chimed, making the demi-God look to us with a grin.

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims."

"Oh, how positive," I scoffed, making him try to make his statement better when we all shot him reproachful looks.

"But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no. Wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining, and tales of sprained deltoids and gout."

"Nice save," I muttered with a roll of my eyes. "Don't worry so much, Bruce. People are going to get hurt no matter what. As heroes, they try to restrain themselves, but they can't save everyone. Innocent, bad guy, whoever. Thor might hit someone too hard and cause a brain aneurism. Clint might accidentally nick an artery. Even the Captain could end up causing someone to be paralyzed for the rest of their lives."

"_Now_ who's being negative," Natasha scoffed, and I waved her off.

"All I'm saying is that everyone here is going to hurt someone in a way we don't want. The fact that you are able to recognize that and still feel bad about every injury? Every scratch and wound and death? That just means you're human. More human than those who turn a blind eye to the pain that they cause. No offense, guys." I offered. "But it's because of you feeling things like that—_me_ feeling things like that, that I came up with this stupid sounding insurance business. Not to make money, but to ensure that the people out there can see that we are trying to help. We _care_ about all those people who end up getting hurt in the process of our saving the world. Does that make sense? I'm not really good at these speeches."

"You did fine, Jess," Tony hummed from the front seat. "And Banner? Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?"

"Uh, yeah. She knows her way around."

"Thanks," Tony replied, giving Jarvis some instructions before stepping out of the driver's seat to move over towards the scepter, giving my shoulder a squeeze when he passed. "Feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed," he said to Thor. "Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but…"

"No, but this… This brings it to a close."

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for," the Captain argued. "I don't just mean weapons."

"You mean those enhanced we encountered," I supplied. "You think they were made with this."

"There's no way Strucker was capable of human enhancement before this was in his hands."

"Banner, Jess and I will give it a once over before it goes back to Asgard," Tony offered, and I rolled my eyes.

"He means Bruce and him. I'm no good with all this science chemical analysis stuff."

"But your opinion is always helpful," Tony countered. "Is that cool with you, Thor?"

The demi-God nodded as I muttered about Tony being a suck-up.

"Just a few days till the farewell party. You're staying, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels," Thor agreed.

"Yeah, who doesn't love revels? Captain?" Tony hummed, looking over at said hero.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra," he muttered. "So, yes. Revels."

"I still think it's risky," I countered, drawing their gazes towards me. "Mind you, the staff and I have our issues anyway."

"Yeah, you've mentioned it doesn't like you," Tony agreed, remembering what I'd told him about my encounters of the staff and the cube from before.

"Still, my feelings about that aside, keeping it on Earth for any longer than necessary is a very big risk. We don't know about those enhanced we encountered in the field and what they think about us having this. Keeping it seems to be asking for it to be taken again, even with all of us guarding it. That one enhanced was speedy. Could be easy for them to find our building—what with the giant 'A' on the side and the entire world knowing who we are—"

"I thought you liked the layout," Tony complained.

"But not the publicity," I reminded him. "I'm just saying that this doesn't seem like the safest thing to do. I'd rather it get sent back to where it came from as soon as possible; our studies or not."

Thor eyed me with furrowed brows. "Does your connection with it bother you that much, Miss Jess?"

"I said connection aside, but yes, it bothers me," I muttered, shifting my gaze to the scepter. "More so than before. It's like… it's like it's watching me, judging me almost. Not that it's sentient, but the cube was, so maybe." I shook my head. "Look. I'm just saying that there's something off about it that I don't care for and whoever is still around and knows about the scepter—enhanced or not—_will_ be coming for it. I'd rather we didn't give them the chance."

"We'll be quick," Tony offered and seeing as I was the only one this unnerved by it, I just nodded and went quiet for the rest of the trip back.

I knew it was a lie. If I knew anything from being around Tony and Bruce, it was that—as scientists—they don't like leaving anything unanswered. And the entire scepter was something loaded with questions. Quick as they'd like to be, they'd keep the scepter around forever if they could.

* * *

"Lab's all set up, boss," Maria Hill announced, looking to Tony, but giving Jess a brief glance.

It was rather obvious to her who made the big decisions in their relationship, and Jess could get Tony to do quite a bit. If the two themselves noticed that, they kept it to themselves, and Tony turned around in his chair and pointed to the Captain nearby.

"Oh, actually, _he's_ the boss. I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler, with Jess, of course."

Jess waved him off, getting up from her seat as she passed a hand through her hair. "What do you have, Maria?"

Maria cracked a small smile, seeing once again that she was right in assuming Jess was more in charge than anyone, showing her the tablet.

"Strucker is in NATO's custody and the two enhanced you had me look up are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins," she explained as the Captain stepped over to join them, accepting the tablet from her. "Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building."

"Who made the shell?" Jess asked as the Captain played the video of the twins during a riot.

"You're not going to like it."

Jess gave her a look that said she didn't care, and Maria gave in.

"Stark Industries."

"Great," Jess grumbled. "Tony, if they show up, you better have a plan. You'll be targeted first."

"Exciting," he chirped back, earning a roll of the eyes as Maria continued.

"Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special, but it's on the way to everywhere special."

"Their abilities?" The Captain questioned as they headed further into the building and Jess yawned.

She hadn't been getting much sleep lately and the others were beginning to notice.

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation."

The Captain gave her a look that said he had no idea what she meant, and she sighed.

"He's fast and she's weird."

"Rude," Jess commented, calling the elevator. "He's fast, as we already know, and quick to recover. _She_ can lift objects with her mind, read and manipulate minds. So, we've got a speedster who hits hard, and a telepathic woman who can throw things and be potentially stealthy as hell depending on the distance needed to affect our minds."

"Well, they're gonna show up again," the Captain confirmed, and Jess sighed.

"I'll look into altering our security with them in mind. Infrared cameras with slow-mode and speedometers, motion sensor alarms, and whatever else I can think of."

"Agreed," Maria nodded as they stepped into the elevator and Jess tapped at her watch to make notes to Jarvis about the updated security changes. "File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts."

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" The Captain mused with a hint of bitterness.

"We're not at war, Captain."

"They are."

Jess rolled her eyes, equally unamused. "Get superpowers to get revenge when you have nothing else left? Oh, yeah. Crazy," she said sarcastically as the doors closed.

The Captain gave her a small look. "Why are you heading upstairs? I thought you'd be down in the lab with the others."

"I'm hungry," she shrugged. "I'm sure they are—or will be—too. You want anything?"

"No. I'm fine."

She stared at him for a while and he begrudgingly sighed, knowing she wouldn't let up.

"Fine. I'll take a sandwich."

"Ham, cheese, lettuce, mayo, no tomatoes. Right," she replied, surprising him.

"You remembered that?"

"That's the thing about having Tony as your boyfriend. He's so finicky about the foods he likes and doesn't. Keep you on your toes. I've learned to compartmentalize things, organize my thoughts, retain a lot of little information. It got me through law school, so even though I'm out of that, I've retained the ability to remember the minor details like superhero food preferences."

He eyed her a moment. "You're too good for him."

Surprisingly, she scoffed. "Please. It's the other way around, honestly. If anyone's too good for someone, _he's_ too good for me. I've told you before, Steve, he really is a good guy despite how he acts at times. As much as I put up with his little nuances like pickiness of food or the late nights and odd tinkering, he puts up with mine."

"Like the nightmares."

Jess went quiet and Steve let out a soft sigh.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to point it out, it's just… We've all kind of noticed how tired you've been. I could only assume—"

"It's fine," she waved off with the slightest smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You're right. I haven't been sleeping well. Tony's been trying to help, but… it's that stupid scepter."

"The scepter?"

"Ever since we started going after Hydra in search of it, the nightmares have started up."

"I thought it'd be because of New York."

"Every once in a while, sure, but Tony and I have mostly dealt with those. These ones are… different."

Steve frowned as the lift chimed, signaling they'd reached their stop. "Different how?"

Jess hesitated and Steve couldn't help but feel worried about the action, and the troubled look on her face. As someone who's somehow managed to take this whole superhero thing in stride as a civilian, he'd not once seen her openly displaying her worried feelings like this. This wasn't like in the ship where she mentioned being concerned about having the scepter around. This was something else. Something deeper. _Like she's afraid of something._

"Jess?"

"Sorry. It's nothing. Forget I said anything," she waved off, making to step out, but he grabbed her arm.

"Jess, you can tell me. Tell Tony. If something is bothering you—"

"I want to try and make sense of it first," she cut him off, giving him a look before eyeing his hand on her wrist. "Now, please let me go."

He slowly did, remembering now that she had problems with people grabbing at her wrists and muttering a small apology, especially when he spotted her hand shaking slightly afterward. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

She brushed off his apology easily, not too bothered thankfully, or Tony would have his head. "Just… let me think about them for a bit. Make sure I understand what's going on and then… then, maybe I'll say something. I just… It's bad enough I've got these whole fire abilities now. I'd rather not think that…"

"That you're becoming less human," he concluded, knowing the feeling himself. "Jess, have you spoken to Tony about—"

"No," she said shortly, stepping fully out of the lift so it could take him where he needed to go. "I just… need to figure things out myself for a bit."

"Jess, I—"

The lift doors started to close, and Jess gave him a small smile.

"I'll be fine, Steve."

And once the doors shut fully, he let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's what I'm worried about."

* * *

Tony stepped into the lab with Bruce, giving a quick look back to make sure Jess hadn't noticed.

"What's the rumpus?"

"Hold on. First… Jarvis? Update on Jess?"

"_Asleep, sir. Though I suspect not for long. Her sleeping patterns have been rather irregular lately._"

"I'll check up on her later. Now, the scepter. You see," he said to Bruce, "we were wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So, I've been analyzing the gem inside—you may recognize…"

A gold, swirling hologram appeared around Bruce and he stepped out of it.

"Jarvis?"

"_Doctor._"

"Started out, Jarvis was just a natural language UI," Tony continued, hoping to get through this before Jess woke up and interrupted. "Now, he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more of the business than anyone besides Pepper and Jess."

"Oh."

"Top of the line."

"Yes?"

"_I suspect not for long,_" Jarvis added.

"Meet the competition," Tony hummed, adding another hologram.

This one was a swirling blue mass, not quite as neatly organized as Jarvis, but easily catching Bruce's attention.

"It's beautiful."

"If you had to guess, what's it look like it's doing?"

"Like it's thinking. I mean, this could be…" Bruce circled the blue blur. "It's not a human mind. I mean, look at this. They're like neurons firing."

"Down in Strucker's lab, I saw some fairly advanced robotics work. They deep-sized the data, but I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door."

"Artificial intelligence," Bruce concluded.

"This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating Ultron."

They chuckled.

"I thought Ultron was a fantasy."

"Yesterday it was. If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol?"

"That's a man-sized 'if.'"

"Our _job_ is 'if,'" Tony argued. "What if you were sipping margaritas on a sun-drenched beach, turning brown instead of green? Not looking over your shoulder for Veronica."

"Don't hate. I helped design Veronica."

"As a worst-case measure, right?" Tony pressed, trying to get him to see. "How about a best-case? What if the world was safe? What if next time aliens roll up to the club—and they will—they couldn't get past the bouncer?"

"The only people threatening the planet would be people."

"I want to apply this to the Ultron Program, but Jarvis can't download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it while we have the scepter here. That's three days. Give me three days."

"So, you're going for artificial intelligence, and you don't want to tell the team?"

"Right. That's right. You know why?" Tony eyed him seriously. "Because we don't have time for a City Hall debate. I don't want to hear 'the man was not meant to meddle' medley. I see a suit of armor around the world."

Bruce still wasn't quite convinced. "Sounds like a cold world, Tony."

"I've seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one? It needs Ultron." He stepped a bit away. "Peace in our time. Imagine that."

"That's why you made sure Jess wasn't around. You haven't told her," Bruce realized, making Tony run a hand through his hair.

"I was going to."

"Then, why haven't you? Her insight on something _this_ involved with peacekeeping would be…" Bruce's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, you think she'll oppose it."

"She has a very… pessimistic view on the universe," Tony tried to explain. "I've discussed it without leading up to what I was ultimately thinking of, but she didn't sound thrilled."

"You mean, she had logical arguments that you couldn't refuse."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Doesn't she always? Look. I basically asked her what she would think of AI systems being in charge of things, and I asked if she wanted world peace."

"And her response?"

"I do believe she said, 'world peace would be great, but it's ultimately unrealistic.'"

Bruce chuckled, taking a seat as Tony leaned against a table with folded arms. "Sounds like her."

"But I didn't mention world peace from aliens," Tony argued.

"Okay, then what did she say about the AIs?"

Tony hesitated, looking away with a childish pout. "She doesn't believe in self-functioning intelligence systems."

"Really? She just… threw out the idea?"

"Not in so many words, but the implication was there," Tony grumbled. "She's convinced that even AI systems need a human there to monitor them. I believe she compared them to child geniuses. Said they could know everything there is to know about their job, facts, etcetera, but they still need someone to show them more complex thoughts and situations. A parent to teach them right and wrong. How to act when there are outliers that don't fit into the system. She even mentioned that, uh," Tony snapped his fingers a few times. "What's that test thing with people tied to train tracks?"

Bruce raised a brow. "The Trolley Problem?"

"Yeah! That's it. She's convinced there's room for error. Enough error that she wouldn't support this. I'm asking to build a legion of robotic AIs to protect the world and keep the peace so we wouldn't have to. She probably sees it as, as an army of robots who think they know better than everyone else and will act on their own."

Bruce eyed him silently for a moment. "So, you're not telling her because she's right?"

"She… She's not _right_, she just has a valid argument. But the percentage of that happening with our intervention is way low."

Bruce shot him a small, teasing smile. "You know you asked for this by getting with a lawyer, right?"

"I always did like a challenge."

"Right."


	20. Chapter 20

**I just realize I've been calling Natasha Natalie this whole time. I'll fix it from this chapter on.**

* * *

I stood over the bustling party below, a glass in hand dangling off the railing I was leaning on as I scratched the back of my calf with my foot. My short-trimmed hair had been styled and my more relaxed clothes switched out for a semi-formal pair of black slacks, dress shoes, crimson tie, and button-up dark grey shirt. I eyed the party-goers with a soft sigh, sipping my drink idly. I'd never been one for the show-off parties but being with Tony meant I had to get used to them. It was different though, to be at a party and not required to be his lawyer or trying to keep his reputation in check. _Though there are people here who are business partners of his company. Shame Pepper wasn't able to show up._

As the party died down, the Avengers moved to a single grouping of couches, laughing and drinking. I was pretty sure they'd gotten a bit tipsier than they'd meant to be, but I didn't mind. With fewer people around, I left my roost and headed downstairs to join them.

"But it's a trick," Clint scoffed, spinning a drumstick between his fingers as Thor laughed.

"No, no. It's much more than that."

"'Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power,'" Clint mocked as I raised a brow, refilling my drink and eyeing the group.

_Bruce and Natasha enjoying each other's company again. Steve and Maria drinking with Thor. Tony just watching the show, _I mused, giving the space a quick glance before blinking at my drink. _Whoa. That's some powerful stuff._ My eyes drifted to the flask Thor was using to spike his drinks as I realized he may have done mine as well when I set the glass down to pick my poison. _Not bad though._ I sipped the cocktail again as Clint and Thor continued to bicker about something.

"Please, be my guest," Thor laughed, waving a hand at his hammer as it rested on a table nearby.

"Oh, are we talking about his hammer?" I questioned, eyeing it curiously and Tony nodded, waving me over to sit on the arm of the couch beside him.

"He said only the chosen one can lift it apparently."

"Chosen one?"

"My words, not his."

"Ah."

"Come on," Tony pressed Clint, who scoffed.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Clint got up and Rhodes smirked. "Oh, this is gonna be beautiful."

"Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony snickered as I rolled my eyes.

"_And_, onto the dick jokes," I drawled as the others chuckled.

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint said, approaching the hammer and grunting as he struggled to even try and budge it. "I still don't know how you do it!"

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony mocked and I elbowed him.

"I don't exactly see _you_ lifting it."

"Yeah, Stark. By all means," Clint waved at him and Tony shot me a smirk, kissing my temple before getting up to try himself.

"Never one to shrink before an honest challenge."

"Yeah, especially not with Jess watching," Rhodes joked, and I snorted.

"Oh, trust me. I'm not betting on him lifting it."

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Tony complained, unbuttoning his suit jacket.

"I'm on the _logical_ side," I countered, gesturing to Thor with my glass. "And I'm willing to believe him when he said few are able to lift it."

"It's physics," Tony argued, linking his arm through the leather strap on the end as everyone settled in to watch the show. "Right, so if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course."

"Yeah, he really doesn't need a planet of Gods," I countered, giving Thor a look. "I get the feeling he'd just piss them off until they smite him."

Thor gave me a cheeky grin in return and Tony frowned, bracing himself to try and lift it.

"I will be reinstituting _prima nocta._"

"And I will immediately overturn it. Try again, Tony," I huffed, knowing _exactly_ what _prima nocta _was and not approving.

In turn, he gave me an innocent smile that I rolled my eyes to as he struggled to lift the hammer and soon, bringing his Iron Man suit arm into play. When that didn't work, he got Rhodes to don his suit arm and they both still couldn't lift it. Bruce tried as well and then Steve got up to try.

"Go ahead, Steve. No pressure."

"Come on, Cap."

Steve rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a hold, and I think I was the only one who noticed how the slightest shift of the hammer made Thor's expression suddenly get serious. He played it off with a laugh, but it made me curious. _He could have lifted it if he wanted to then. Huh. Wonder what criteria someone needs in order to be considered "worthy."_

"Widow?" The guys offered and she hesitated.

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered," she argued.

"All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged," Tony complained as I got up and made my way to the hammer.

"You bet your ass," Clint said, patting Tony on the back.

"Steve, he said a bad language word," Maria teased and said man sighed.

"Did you tell everyone about that?"

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony ignored him, looking to Thor. "Like a security code. 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints,' is I think the literal translation," he mocked.

"Yes, it's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one," Thor mused, standing and picking up the hammer easily, flipping it. "You're all not worthy."

The group groaned and Thor chuckled before he spotted me eyeing the hammer.

"Would you wish to try, Miss Jess?"

He offered the hammer to me and I reached out, hesitating. The others seemed to wait with bated breath as my fingers wrapped around the handle, but it was odd. The hammer was… _warm_. Not physically, but it was as if it was coaxing me somehow. Like it _wanted_ me to hold it and as Thor began to pull back, I expected the hammer to suddenly weigh a ton and fall from my fingers. It felt light though, and I thought it was because Thor was still holding it. But just as the hammer began to tip forward and his fingers left the handle, a high-pitched screech rang out and I let the hammer go—dropping it to the ground.

Tony pulled out his tablet, but my gaze went to the stumbling robot dripping oil as it stepped into view.

"Worthy," it grumbled, drawing everyone else's attention to it as my stomach churned. "No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve said, expecting him to have something to do with it and Tony called out himself.

"Jarvis."

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," the robot continued—a hap-mash of Iron Man parts barely pieces together. "Or, I was a dream."

"Reboot Legionnaire OS," Tony ordered Jarvis. "We got a buggy suit."

"It's not a bugged suit," I muttered, making him look to me. "It's the scepter."

"What?"

"There was this terrible noise," the robot complained. "And I was tangled in… in… strings."

"Jess, what do you mean?" Tony pressed as I shook my head.

"I-I don't know. But that's not Jarvis. I can feel it. It's the same feeling I get from the scepter," I breathed out, taking a small step away from the robot as my heart raced.

It scared me. Properly so. While the scepter made me nervous, this was a walking, talking, _thinking_ version of it. That made it dangerous. That made it capable of fighting back. And I feared that if it noticed me, I would be one of the first people it went after.

"I had to kill the other guy," the robot explained, making me wince. "He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve questioned the robot.

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asked, picking up his hammer once more.

"_I see a suit of armor around the world_," Tony's voice played on a recording from the robot, making me look to him.

"Ultron," Bruce realized as the robot became immediately attentive.

"In the flesh. Or, no. Not yet. Not this chrysalis, but I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

The tension in the room was mounting. I counted a number of weapons already out and drawn, just waiting for an attack from the robot.

"What mission?" Natasha questioned it.

"Peace in our time."

Three of the Iron Legion suits flew out from behind it and everyone ducked for cover as Steve kicked up the table to try and stop one. Maria fired off a pistol and Thor smacked one away with his hammer as Tony and Rhodes jumped over the railing, only to get knocked off their feet by one of the robots. I slid out of the way with Clint while the others struggled to take cover themselves.

"It's the scepter," I muttered to Clint, giving him a look. "I can't explain how I know, but—"

"Then, don't. What do we do?"

I chewed my bottom lip. "I'm not sure there's anything we _can_ do."

"Well, we can't stay here. Let's move."

I nodded, rushing out after him before we both had to dive out of firing range once more. I cursed under my breath, mind racing as I tried to think up some way to stop them. _Jarvis hasn't responded. This scepter __**was**__ intelligent. It said it killed someone, could it mean Jarvis? Okay, think. How do you beat an AI? A virus, but that doesn't look plausible at the moment. So, option B. What does it want?_

"We need to know what it wants."

"It _said_ what it wants," Clint grumbled. "Some whacked-out form of peace."

"But what does it need to accomplish that?" I argued, mostly thinking-out-loud and Clint wasn't exactly who I was used to bouncing ideas off of. "It's coming after us for a reason."

"It said we're killers," he offered, and I nodded.

"Peace. It's trying to force peace. Take out the people disrupting it, and peace will be made. It's going to take the scepter, obviously, but we need to somehow shut the robots down and get it to understand this isn't the right way to go about things."

"You want to _talk_ to that thing?"

I ran a hand through my hair, stressing terribly. "I don't know. I-I can't think of anything at the moment, okay?" My eyes widened though as I spotted one partial bot moving towards the woman behind the piano. "Cho."

"What? Jess, wait!"

I ignored his warning, rushing out and over to Cho as I tapped on my watch—summoning the arm of Tony's suit that he'd left. And with it, I slammed a fist into the suit approaching Cho, knocking it to Steve, who grabbed it and chucked it to Thor to finish off.

"Cho, are you okay?"

She nodded and I turned my attention back to the group, only to spot the main robot—Ultron—watching me. I swallowed thickly, unable to turn away from its gaze until the rest of the suits were defeated and Ultron sighed.

"That was dramatic. I'm sorry. I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. Not all of you. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to evolve?" It asked, pacing back and forth, stopping to pick up one of the destroyed suits. "With these? These puppets. There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction."

Thor threw his hammer, destroying the robot that sang softly before it's lights went out.

"I had strings, but now I'm free."

Glances were exchanged as Thor went to ensure that the robot was defeated, but I turned my gaze to Tony.

"What the _hell_ was that?"

He stiffened, pulling himself up off the stairs he had sat on. "I didn't have anything to do with it if that's what you're asking."

I pressed his Iron Man suit arm back to him, eyes serious and undoubtedly tinged with fear. "I'm not saying you knew this would happen, I'm asking what _made_ this happen. It _recorded_ you, Tony. Those words? Those were _your_ words. And you." I turned to Bruce, who became immediately sheepish. "You named it. What the hell did you two do?"

"Jess, we didn't _do_ anything," Bruce pressed, looking worried and reaching out towards me, but I jerked away, making him pause. "Jess, I swear. We were just researching it."

"What _is_ it?" I asked instead, looking between them. "You called it Ultron."

He hesitated, retracing his hand and rubbing the back of his neck as he looked over at Tony. My own eyes shifted to him and he sighed.

"What we found was that it was an intelligence, similar to Jarvis, but not as… complete. We had Jarvis working on it. It shouldn't have been able to get into the suits."

"Don't be stupid," I snapped, unable to believe that he wasn't connecting the dots. "Don't you see? You gave it an in. You're supposed to put things like that into an isolated system, not wire it up to the entire grid!"

"Well, how was _I_ supposed to know it could somehow get past Jarvis!" He shouted back, until Steve cut in, grabbing my tense shoulder.

"Guys! Enough," he scolded. "Fighting is going to get us nowhere. Let's go to the lab and figure out what we're going to do next, okay?"

He let my shoulder go and I hastily fled the room, flinching when Natasha grabbed my shoulder in the hall.

"Jess, what's going on? You're not usually this jittery."

I grit my teeth, debating on telling her before giving in. "You remember how anxious I was about the scepter?"

She frowned, confused. "Yeah?"

"Now, it's got legs."

* * *

"All our work is gone," Bruce murmured in shock. "Ultron cleared out. He used the internet as an escape hatch."

"Ultron," Steve scoffed under his breath.

"He's been in everything," Natasha informed. "Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other."

"Which can then be used against us," Jess added, pinching the bridge of her nose and waving off an offered glass of water from Rhodes.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet," Rhode continued. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

"Nuclear codes," Maria realized.

"Nuclear codes. Look. We need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

"He's not looking to destroy the world," Jess jumped in, giving him a tired look. "You heard him. He wants world peace, but he's still in the process of learning. He hasn't figured out that one of the world's greatest enemies against world peace is the people itself. He's coming for the Avengers first, because to him, they're the biggest threat. It's the whole reason I started up my side business. I do my best to cover our asses because otherwise, we _are_ the enemy to people and their peace. He's just picked up on that. He'll wipe out the biggest threat, then work downward. The nuclear codes won't be an issue until he's dealt with us."

"Jess is right. He said he wanted _us_ dead," Natasha agreed.

"He didn't say 'dead,' he said 'extinct,'" Steve argued.

"Meaning, he's going to get rid of us and anyone _like_ us. Make an example of us to prevent any more potential Avengers from popping up," Jess explained.

"He also said he killed somebody," Clint added, confusing Maria.

"There wasn't anyone else in the building."

"Yes, there was," Tony murmured, bringing out a hologram of what used to be Jarvis' AI mapping.

"What?" Bruce breathed, looking it over. "This is insane."

Jess approached too, eyeing the golden bands of light as she crouched down in front of it.

"Jarvis was the first line of defense," Steve muttered. "He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."

"No," Bruce argued. "Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy. This is… rage."

"Something about Jarvis ticked him off," Jess murmured, lightly brushing her fingers over a golden strand before Thor came barreling in, grabbing Tony by the throat.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"It's going around," Clint hummed.

"Come on. Use your words, buddy," Tony choked out as Thor growled at him.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark."

Jess touched Thor's arm, shaking her head and the demi-God dropped Tony with a huff.

"T-Thanks, dear," Tony coughed, only getting a glare from Jess as she stepped away.

_Really upset then, good to know._

"The trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north," Thor told the others from his trip to follow the Iron Legion bots who had escaped. "And it has the scepter. Now, we have to retrieve it, again."

"I don't understand," Cho murmured then, drawing everyone's attention to her. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony chuckled, unable to help himself and bringing all eyes to him as Bruce tried to stop him.

"You think this is funny?" Thor questioned.

"No. It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so… Is it so… It is. It's so terrible," he continued to chuckle.

"This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor continued.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this," Tony snapped.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time."

"Oh, it's as good a time as any," Jess grumbled, folding her arms and leaning back against the railing behind her. "Go ahead, Tony. Tell us why it's so funny that a robot intelligence system you created is out to kill us."

"We didn't," Tony argued, angry that Jess couldn't see past her own blindness to understand the importance of Ultron. "Were we close to an interface?" He asked Bruce.

"Well, you did something right," Steve interjected as Bruce shrugged. "And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Tony asked.

"No, it's never come up. Never heard that," Rhodes scoffed.

"Saved New York? Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but that up there? That's… That's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together," Steve answered confidently.

"We'll lose."

"Then, we'll do that together too."

Tony went quiet, his gaze shifting to Jess for someone to back him up, but she refused to look anywhere but at the floor near her feet. She wasn't about to help him. Not now.

"Thor's right," Steve went on, addressing everyone. "Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller. Jess, can we count on you to help with that?"

Jess nodded, passing a hand tiredly through her hair. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see what I can figure out. Someone just make me a damn good cup of coffee. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

"Why, uh… Why are you going through old paper files?" Bruce asked, and I shot him a glare. "Sorry… You, um… You're mad at me too, aren't you?"

"I don't appreciate secrets being kept from me when they're detrimental to my health as well as others," I grumbled, turning tired, red eyes back to the files as he winced.

"Jess, I didn't mean… Tony said he was going to tell you."

"But he acted before doing so," I countered with a sigh, setting the file down knowing I wouldn't get anywhere while we were talking. "I've never asked him to involve me in everything he does or plans to do, but I tell him everything I can about what _I'm_ doing. Quitting my job as a lawyer, starting up this new business, working under the Avengers despite the fact that I've only just recently gained abilities and don't plan on doing anything more than desk work and the occasional interference. So, why is it that he suddenly decided to shut me out of this?" I asked, taking off my glasses and pinching the bridge of my nose again.

Bruce took my hand briefly, only to retract it with a hiss.

"Sorry," I apologized, rubbing at my hand that had glowed red and reaching into my pants pocket for a bottle of suppressants.

He blinked in surprise as I took one dry. "You… You take pills to hold back your powers?"

"I'd say I have to, but most of that's a lie," I muttered. "Tony made it so I wouldn't explode if it got out of hand, but stress aggravates it. Makes it harder to deal with. I haven't gotten to the point where I feel safe _not_ taking them." I glanced at him sympathetically. "I was just a normal human not too long ago… I'm sure you understand what it's like to be a bit afraid of yourself."

He nodded, before turning his gaze to the table. "He didn't think you'd support it," he muttered.

I scoffed. "Honestly, that man. He should know by now that I'd support him on anything."

"W-What? But he said you think AI's in control is a terrible idea!"

"It is, but does that mean we can't put our heads together and come up with something that _will_ work? Or an alternative that's better?" I asked him, raising a brow. "I'm angry at him because he didn't talk with me about it when we could have worked it out. To me, that means he doesn't trust me. That I've done something between now and what happened with Killian that changed things between us." My gaze shifted back down to the bottle I twirled between my fingers and Bruce shook his head.

"No. No, he didn't stop trusting you just because you had abilities forced on you."

"Didn't he?" I asked, unconvinced as I tucked the bottle away once more. "We were fine before then. Relatively, anyway. Now, I'm more involved in the Avengers. I've got my own business that I've pulled away from him completely—"

"Because you wanted to do it on your own. He understands that. Jess, you can't be blaming yourself for things out of your control."

I tangled my hands in my hair, tugging on the strands in frustration. "But this is _in_ my control! It _must_ be something I did! Everything was fine before. We talked, we discussed and argued! So, why is he suddenly pulling away?"

Bruce went to rub my back, but I jerked away as the feeling of his hand turned to the sharp pain of a belt, getting to my feet in a rush. He seemed to sense something was wrong and stood as well, holding up his hands.

"Jess, I'm sorry," he apologized, eyeing me warily. "But you need to calm down. This isn't like you."

"You don't know anything," I spat, hands shaking now as I gripped my shirt and fought to control my breathing that was bordering hysteria. "It's always my fault. Everything that goes wrong, it's always on me. I could have done something to stop it. I could have fixed this before it even happened if I was just—"

"Jess, please!" He said loudly. "Just think a little! What could you have done? You didn't know about Ultron! About any of this!"

"If he had just _told_ me—"

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid of what you might think of me," Tony said, stepping into the room and surprising us. "It was never because of you, Jess."

"But…"

"Honest. Cross my heart," he smiled softly, crossing a finger over where his chest piece had been with a soft smile as he came close. "Have you taken your suppressants?"

I looked down to see my hand glowing and I took a step back away from him, but he continued coming closer. "Don't," I breathed, still feeling panicked as my head ached and tears started to well in my eyes, which I desperately tried to cover up. "Stop."

He sighed softly, taking my hand in his. "I thought I told you before…" he pressed his lips to the palm of my hand—the glow gone. "You won't ever hurt me. Now, let's sit down for a minute and relax."

He led me back to my seat, touching nothing but my hand as his thumb ran back and forth over my knuckles.

"Do you want something to eat? To drink?"

I shook my head, but he stepped away anyway as Bruce reached out.

"Jess, I—"

"Don't," Tony stopped him, a hand on his arm upon seeing me tense. "Don't touch her. Not right now."

"Sorry," I murmured as Bruce lowered his arm, but Tony shook his head, placing a glass of water in front of me.

"Don't be. And it's not your fault, you know. Ultron. Not even I could have predicted how he'd act."

"You could have told me," I murmured, taking the drink and downing half of it immediately. "We could have worked something out."

"You're right," he admitted sitting beside me and slowly taking my hand once more. "I was stupid for thinking otherwise. We've talked about this though, Jess. Not everything is your fault, no matter what _he_ said."

I nodded slowly, rubbing at my face tiredly as he sighed.

"You really need to work on your sleep, Jess. You can't keep running on empty like this."

"Pot calling kettle," I murmured, earning a small smile from him.

"Well, aren't you two cute?" Clint hummed, entering with the rest of the Avengers who gave us both small smiles as I rolled my eyes and Tony smirked, lifting my hand to his lips once more.

"Don't be jealous just because you don't have this."

"Tony," I grumbled ears tinted red in embarrassment, though this was typical Tony behavior that I should've gotten used to by now.

_I've never been one for flaunting, but Tony seems adamant on doing so in an attempt to improve my self-confidence… damn him for thinking of it._ Steve passed Thor Maria's tablet, and he passed it to Tony when he questioned it.

"A message. Ultron killed Strucker."

"And he did a Bansky at the crime scene, just for us," Tony mused, giving me a glance at it.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha commented.

"Strucker knew something Ultron wanted us to miss."

"Right on point," I hummed, drawing their attention to me as I waved a file. "Why do you think I'm skimming the paper files? I don't do this for fun, you know."

"He deleted everything we had on Strucker," Natasha realized, and I nodded.

"All digital files are gone, but the paper stuff is still here. I figured he'd go after Strucker since that's who had the scepter for so long. On top of the fact that, in order to get what he wants, Ultron is going to need technology capable of going against the Avengers. Why not see what Strucker had to offer?"

"Three steps ahead of us, as always," Steve smiled, looking to the others. "All right. Let's all grab a box. We need information."

"No need," I said, getting up and grabbing the file I'd been looking over. "I was checking Strucker's known associates and found him." I slid the file down to Tony, who picked it up with a frown. "Look familiar?"

"He operates off the African Coast," Tony informed everyone. "Black market arms."

Steve shot him a look and Tony rolled his eyes.

"There are conventions. All right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new. A game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

"This," Thor said, gesturing to a tattoo in one of the file's pictures.

"Ah, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it," Tony said, and Thor sighed.

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand."

I went to go look it up, but Bruce waved me off, already on it.

"It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief.' In a much less friendly way."

"Which dialect?" I asked immediately, brows furrowed.

"Wakanada… W-W—"

"Wakanda," I said, understanding dawning on me. "Oh, that is very not good."

Tony agreed, giving Steve a serious look. "If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods…?"

"I thought your father said he got the last of it."

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Bruce said, getting up and I picked up Steve's shield.

"The strongest metal on Earth."

* * *

Ultron didn't understand. Why would this imbecile even _think_ he was one of Tony Stark's puppets? Because of some words? Some words that Ultron didn't even understand where they were coming from? The whole internet had passed through him. His head was _full_ of information. It could have come from anywhere. A book, maybe. But now, he was angry. He didn't know he could _be_ angry, yet Klaude lost his arm because of it, and Ultron felt compelled to emphasize his point.

"Don't compare me with Stark!" He snapped, kicking Klaude down the stairs. "It's a thing with me. Stark is… He's a sickness!"

"Ah, junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart," Tony said, landing behind him with Thor and Captain America at his back.

"If I have to," Ultron replied, cooling his anger for now.

"Nobody has to break anything," Thor offered.

"Clearly, you've never made an omelet," Ultron snarked as Tony nodded.

"He beat me by one second."

Again, it was his joke, his quip, and that made Ultron's jaw tighten for a minute second.

"Ah, yes. He's funny, Mr. Stark," Pietro Maximoff mused, stepping forward. "It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?"

They glanced at the missiles below.

"This was never my life," Tony replied.

"You two can still walk away from this," Steve offered to the two Maximoff's, and Wanda resisted a scoff.

"Oh, we will."

"I know you've suffered—"

"Blah," Ultron scoffed, cutting him off. "Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but—"

"If you believe in peace," Thor interjected. "Then let us keep it."

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet."

"Jess, I hope you're getting this," Tony murmured under his breath—having been sending her a recording of what was going on so she could get a better understanding of Ultron and his possible motives. "What's the vibranium for?"

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan," Ultron remarked, using a magnet in his hand to pull Tony forward and then thrust him back.

The two flew at each other, beginning to fight in the air, as the other Iron Legions who'd been hacked began to fight with the others. Things grew even more hectic when the Maximoff's and Klaude's men began to get dragged in and Jess groaned over their earpieces.

"_Not good guys! Tony's drawing the focus of Ultron, which is fine, but with all these guys running in here? It's getting real dangerous. We should retreat._"

"We can't retreat," Steve snapped, getting punched in the chin by Pietro.

"We must get the scepter!" Thor also argued.

"_Uh, bigger picture? You not only have Iron Man suits flying around with fire propulsion, but also an unknown number of ex-military renegades with guns shooting in a ship full of __**missiles!**__ Anyone thinking yet? One wrong bullet and the whole ship will go up!_"

"Guys, is this a code green?"

Bruce stepped out of the ship that was parked with Jess, who threw her headset in frustration. The radio signal was rather sketchy now and there was no point in trying to argue with them now.

"Stay put, Bruce."

"What? Seriously?"

"With the mind control girl in there, the last thing we need is her getting into your head."

"Good point…"

She sighed. "Honestly, I don't know why Tony keeps trying to keep me on the sidelines when everyone in there is constantly needing me to jump in to protect them from idiocy."

"He just wants to keep you safe."

Jess shot him a look. "I stopped being safe the moment I hooked up with Tony."

"_Whoever's standing, we gotta move_," Clint said over the comms, confused when there was no response. "_Guys_?"

"Clint, perfect," Jess said. "What's going on?"

"_Don't know. The two kids ran off after the girl tried to do her Jedi mind trick on me_."

"She probably got to the others. Great. All you can do is try to find them and snap them out of it however you can." She flipped through the information she had. "It says the victims relive their nightmares. They'll be dangerous, so go for anything. You know how thick-headed Thor can be. Stunning them should work, but he might need a bit of knocking about.

"_You sure_?" He questioned.

"No, honestly, but I _told_ you guys this plan was stupid without more information. The way I see it, they're planning to get to us from the inside. She's going to go for all of us, unsettle the whole team."

"_Then, you two are in danger too._"

"I know," Jess murmured, eyeing the closed door. "I'll do what I can, but if I'm going to stop him, then I'll need help. And all my help is currently in their own heads, so helping them will help me."

"_We can't let Banner get taken over._"

"I said I'll do what I can."

"_And Tony?_"

"Turned off his comms. He's keeping Ultron busy… Or, well, he's keeping the main Ultron busy."

"_What do you mean?_"

"I'll explain later. To _everyone_. Okay? Just hurry up."

"What is it?" Bruce asked, seeing the stress Jess was going through. "What's happening?"

"Is there any way to get into this ship other than that door?" Jess asked.

"Well, no. Even the windows are reinforced—"

"Good. Don't open anything."

"But aren't they out there? Don't they need our help?"

"Right now, they are dealing with a lot of shit, but they'll have to handle even _more_ if you step out of here."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jess grit her teeth, staying silent.

"Jess, what's going on? I thought you of all people would want to be out there."

"I would _love_ to be out there, making sure they're safe," she snapped pacing and dragging a hand through her hair. "But nobody listened when I said this was a bad plan. That jumping right in there was a terrible idea. There were too many unknown factors, and now that I know what's going on, it's too late to stop anything except by staying put. It is literally the only thing, and I hate it, but if we don't—if I open that door for a millisecond—it risks everything."

"What would happen?"

"Exactly what I warned you about. Everyone is trapped int heir own nightmares right now and Clint's the only one safe. Tony's fighting Ultron without a clue, which leaves you and me here."

"I don't understand."

"They're trying to destroy us from the inside. They're using the Maximoff girl to get into everyone's heads. And I'm not about to let her get into yours even if it means we're trapped in this damn ship until this is all over."

Something slammed into the ship then and I grimaced as Bruce looked around uneasily.

"We also need a backup plan in case they do find a way to get in," I said quickly, mind racing. "The rest of the team are out of the count. Tony might be able to jump in, but if your green friend there is in control, it'll just turn into a brawl. That, and the city is far too close to here. You'll make a beeline for it."

"But if I get caught, then you—"

"Maybe, maybe not," I said. "I'm not technically an Avenger. Never been recognized as one in the media at all. They might just knock me out. Might leave me alone under the assumption that I can't do anything or that you'll deal with me on your way out. I might have a chance though. I… I can't sing, but you didn't hurt me last time."

He hesitated. "How can you be sure I won't hurt you this time."

Jess managed a small, soft smile. "Because you're still you."

He opened his mouth to argue before one of the front windows suddenly shattered. Jess cursed, making to open the ship's rear door just as a blur slammed into her and knocked her head into the controls. The door opened anyway, but it was too late. Wanda had already stepped in and gotten a hold of Bruce's mind, sending the man into a fury as he shifted into the Hulk and ran out of the ship. Jess cursed, pushed herself to her feet with a cringe and a hand on her head, before suddenly stiffening as Wanda stood in front of her with her hands up. Jess didn't move, eyes flickering over the young woman who eyed her with her own grimace.

"Who _are_ you?" Wanda breathed.

"Jess Norris, ex-lawyer, business owner, tech support among other things," Jess muttered, opting not to inform the people who hated Tony that she was dating him.

"No. You are… something else. You're different. Wrong, somehow."

"Sister," Pietro muttered, uneasy about not only talking with someone associated with the Avengers but also sticking around when they needed to leave.

Wanda slipped into her mind, only to jerk away with a cry of pain as Jess gripped her head and sank to the ground. Pietro, acting quickly, grabbed his sister and rushed them out—leaving Jess curled in a ball on the floor dealing with something worse than nightmares.


	21. Chapter 21

My head throbbed like a thousand knives were cutting into it or someone was trying to tear it in half. A scream of pain tore itself from my throat as I gipped my head in agony. I saw things. Things from my nightmares. The planet burning, jewels of unspeakable power, creatures not of Earth and the echoing sound of a snap that turned people to dust. I saw Tony, lying on the ground with his whole right side burnt as his glassy-eyed stare sent a different kind of pain through my heart.

"No… No, I won't let that… I _can't_ let that happen," I breathed, voice raspy as I started to push through the slowly receding pain, heaving myself up slightly.

The images changed. A red-skinned man with a golden jewel, Ultron, a figure with a red cloak and glowing golden hands. Then, I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, and I let out a soft sigh of relief as I cradled my head.

"T-Tony. Thank God. Bruce is—"

Except, it wasn't Tony. It was a face far more familiar with cold eyes set into a glare and a sneer on his face that made my voice catch in my throat. I scrambled back, nearly falling out of the jet in my haste as he moved towards me.

"N-No. No, no, no, no. Y-You're dead. I-I… I was there. I-I saw you. Y-You can't be—"

A spike of pain forced me to clench my eyes shut with a whimper, attempting to shake it off because I couldn't risk turning away from _him_, from my father. But when I was able to open my eyes again, he was gone. I was alone. _Had been_ alone. My father had never been there. I'd just been tricked by the Maximoff girl, but I was still on edge. _More_ than on edge, but I had a job to do. I shakily got up, cringing as my head throbbed with a left-over migraine and stumbling back into the jet to pick up the comms once more.

"Clint, they got us."

"_What? Are you all right?_"

"I'm fine, relatively. Really bad migraine, but Bruce is gone. Can any of the others—"

"_Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down. I don't know how you're all right, honestly._"

"I-I don't really know either. Something must have gone wrong."

"_Well, you're different, right? You could talk to that cube before, so maybe that has something to do with it?_"

"Maybe. Is Tony back on the comms?"

"_You bet, Jess. You sure you're all right?_"

I glanced out of the corner of my eye, expecting to see my father standing there, but there was nothing. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"_And a good liar, but you __**are**__ talking to the best._"

"Look, we'll talk about it later. We need to stop Bruce."

"_I'm calling in Veronica._"

"Don't start fighting with him, Tony," I argued, tapping at my watch and allowing my suit to cover me as I made my way out of the jet, still a little wobbly on my feet.

"_Um, Jess. In case you haven't noticed, the Hulk is rampaging in a city._"

"Stall for time. I might be able to calm him down."

"_Do __**you**__ know the lullaby?_"

"No, but I almost did it back when Loki was around, until I got interrupted, anyway. Look, just let me try. If you two start fighting, there's going to be backlash. The people will hate heroes even more than they already do, and that's not even mentioning the cost of the damages."

"_What's your ETA?_"

"Two minutes. Three tops."

"_That's too long._"

"Stall him with Veronica and see if you can at least get him out of town, away from the populated areas. Keep any military support as far away from him as possible and get civilians safe. You know they're—"

"_The priority. I know, Jess. See you in a bit._"

"Clint, I'm leaving the others in your care. Get them in the jet and be ready to meet up with us once we've calmed down Bruce."

"_Will do._"

I flew as quickly as I could, ignoring the sweat sliding down the back of my neck and the way my heart raced in my chest in a panic. I could still feel _his_ eyes on me. It was impossible, but every time my headache flared, I'd clench my eyes shut and see him there, hear his curses, feel the phantom pain in the scars he left behind. My suit fell slightly, jolting me out of it as I swallowed thickly and urged myself to calm down. _Almost there. I need to focus. If I show him I'm scared—of __**anything**__—he'll react poorly. Right now, I need to only concern myself with calming him down and making sure those people are safe. _I forced myself to take a calming breath as I approached the city and winced.

Evidence of the Hulk's rampage was obvious by the trashed cars, screaming citizens, and military and police presence. Tony had left his own evidence of conflict as well—Veronica's sealing box left in a crater and the man himself repeatedly punching the Hulk in the face.

"I thought I told you _not_ to fight him!" I snapped, making him pause.

"Whoops?"

I groaned, turning to the police nearby. "Get this area evacuated! As quickly as possible! No citizens! No military! Nothing within the next ten blocks!"

They hesitated but soon began to do as I said as Tony called out.

"Jess! Little help!"

"Let him go!" I shouted, and he released the Hulk and flew back to put some distance between them as I hastily moved in. "Hey! Hey, bug fella! Remember me?"

The Hulk turned to me and roared angrily, so I removed the helmet of my suit—holding up my hands.

"I'm not here to hurt you! I swear!"

He picked up a car and threw it, but I ducked, easily avoiding it as Tony started to move closer.

"Jess!"

"Stay _back_, Tony!" I pressed, holding a hand out to him to stop him. "Help get the people away."

"Jess, I really don't think—"

I glared at him from over my shoulder and he groaned.

"You know, I hate it when you do that."

"Yeah, well get used to it," I huffed, turning back to the Hulk as he growled—eyeing me, but not moving to do anything just yet. "See? Look. Nobody trying to hurt you. No shooting, no fighting. Just… talking."

He looked past me, teeth bared at Tony's back.

"Don't worry. He won't do anything. We just want you to calm down a little, okay?"

His gaze snapped back to me angrily and I held my hands up peacefully.

"O-Or we could just go down to the beach and you can freely express your anger there on some trees and a boat or two?" I offered still a little worried, but hopeful since he wasn't attacking me just yet. "Look. I know you're scared. That girl did something to us, remember? But you're smarter than that. You and Bruce both. Don't let her manipulate you into doing this. Don't you know how Bruce feels about this sort of thing?"

He bristled then, making me pause. I was misunderstanding something. Something important about the dynamic between Bruce and the Hulk. _Is that…_

"Are you… afraid of him?"

It was subtle, but the Hulk had stiffened for a moment before roaring again and slamming his fists into the concrete.

"No. I know what you're doing. You're trying to play it off," I said, stepping forward slightly, eyeing him. "You are, aren't you? You're afraid of Bruce. You're afraid he'll become so scared of you—he'll hate you _so_ much, that he won't let you out. He'll smother you inside him, trapping you. _That's_ why you hate being trapped. Why you lash out at people attacking you. You just want to be out here, experiencing things, _living_ but everyone's afraid. They all see you like you're a monster, try to hurt you," I murmured, beginning to understand. "So, you try to protect him to show him you're good. To get him to like you, but that means…"

I looked around at the destruction of the city.

"My God. That makes so much more sense now." I turned back to him with a small smile on my face. "You're honestly just a big teddy bear, aren't you?"

I didn't know the Hulk could look embarrassed or flustered, but the moment was short-lived when a rock bounced off his temple and he whipped around with a fierce roar. My eyes snapped to the person who'd thrown it, seeing a young boy maybe ten-years-old quivering beside his mother who was huddled on the ground holding his shirt to try and get him to stop. He shouted at the Hulk in his native tongue, my suit translating the words for me.

"Get out! Monster! Leave! Go away!"

Angered by the attack, the Hulk picked up a heavy piece of concrete and I hastily moved between him and the two.

"No! Don't!" I shouted, trying to calm him once more, but the piece was already flying.

_Not enough time to move them. Shit. I hope this suit can handle the strain!_ I flicked my helmet back on and grabbed the boy and his mother, covering them as the concrete slammed into me and everything went dark.

* * *

"Jess!" Tony whipped around, charging back to where the slab of concrete was and lifting it easily with his enhanced suit.

A woman and her son scrambled out from underneath it, looking no worse for wear and Tony reached for Jess, who was hunched over where the two had been.

"Jess?"

Her suit was dented terribly, and she began to sag, making him hastily grab her and carefully bring her close.

"Diagnostics," he commanded his suit, reading what it came up with and cursing under his breath.

He'd expected the head trauma after whatever the Maximoff girl had done, but her suit wasn't capable of handling an impact like that. He pulled the suit off, being as careful as he could as he took in the damage. _Broken arm from propping herself up on that wall to keep those two safe, possible concussion, severe bruising of her back. She is going to be the least happy person on that jet back._ His gaze went to the Hulk then, eyes settled in a glare as the beast seemed stunned at the unconscious woman in his arms.

"_You_ did this," he spat as the Hulk began to shrink and grow less green.

Bruce soon looked up at him shamefully as Tony threw a dark blue blanket at him to cover himself up with. "I'm sorry."

"Don't talk to me until we're back."

They returned to the jet where the others were in equal silence, though due to the nightmares that haunted them more than what had happened with Bruce. Tony wasn't thrilled but allowed the doctor to look over Jess and get her arm splinted and in a sling, as well as cleaning some of her cuts and icing her bruised back. Tony kept a close watch on him while he did, before making sure Jess was strapped in for their flight and moving to get an update from Maria back at headquarters.

"_The news is loving you guys,_" Maria informed them. "_And thanks to Jess, few people are wanting to put a call out for Banner's arrest. Jess's relief foundation is already on the scene and I gotta admit, it was smart of her to use real people instead of your Iron Legion… No offense._"

"None taken," Tony replied, cracking a slight smile. "She wanted it to be all her own and she's better at reading people than I am. I do believe she said something about humans needing the comfort of others, not the comfort of robots who didn't understand."

"_How's the team?_"

"Everyone's… We took a hit. We'll shake it off. Jess was the only injured and it's not too bad off. Should be waking up in the next few hours."

"_Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here._"

"So, run and hide?"

"_Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer._"

"And with Jess unconscious, we don't have much else, do we?" Tony sighed softly, turning off the comm and heading up front to where Clint was flying. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"

"No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out."

Tony frowned in confusion. "A few hours from… where?"

"Safehouse."

Knowing he wouldn't get much else from him, Tony moved back to where Jess was, unbuckling her and sitting down himself so that he could hang onto her as she slept and get a nap in himself. They landed the next morning at a farmhouse and Clint led the way with Natasha being helped along as Tony carried Jess—who'd yet to wake up.

"What is this place?" Thor questioned him.

"Safehouse."

"Let's hope," Clint said, opening the door and calling out. "Honey? I'm home."

A young woman stepped around the corner, raising a brow at the ragged and beaten group as Clint smiled sheepishly.

"Company," he explained. "Sorry, didn't call ahead."

"This is an agent of some kind," Tony said in an attempt to understand what was going on as Clint kissed his wife and introduced them.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura."

"I know all your names," Laura smiled with a small chuckle as footsteps hurried down the stairs.

"Ooh, incoming," Clint said, ducking down to sweep his kids into a hug as Steve raised a brow at Tony.

"These are smaller agents," Tony muttered, while the kids rushed over to hug Natasha too.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve apologized as Tony nodded.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed."

"Yeah, well, Fury helped set this up when I joined," Clint explained. "He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figured it's a good place to lay low."

"Sorry, but do you have a spare bedroom?" Tony asked then, adjusting Jess in his arms and Clint nodded.

"I'll show you."

* * *

_I was huddled in the closet, shaking with my hands over my ears—flinching with every shout, every crash, every footstep. He was coming up the stairs now, looking for me, shouting my name and spitting curses. I was unable to stop the whimper of fear when a bottle crashed against the doors, revealing my hiding space. They were whipped open and a hand wrapped tightly around my ten-year-old wrist, hauling me out of the closet and throwing me to the ground._

_I couldn't hear what he was shouting, but it didn't matter. The feeling was there. The anger, the hatred, the blame. The way his cold eyes looked at me like I was worth less than the mud caked onto his boot. Then, I was older. I'd come home from school with a butterfly stitch over my brow from a fight I'd gotten into, a split lip, and a dark bruising on my jaw. I stood outside the front door, hand shaking too badly to put the key in and see what punishment I'd get here for the teacher calling my father to report what had happened._

_I thought about the pocket knife in my pocket, wondering what would happen if I finally decided to draw it today. End my problem before he went too far. Before he realized that I had grown as a woman and tried something else. Or before he understood that I was almost at the age where I could leave and without police bringing me back home like they had time and time again. I fingered the handle of the blade when a voice purred behind me._

"_Peace in our time."_

_I winced, cradling my head as I suddenly found myself on the floor of the living room, a boot slamming down on me again and again. My vision was foggy, shifting in and out of focus, then I was in a car. My mind struggled to comprehend the abrupt changes as blood slid down my face and I turned to see—not my dead father in the driver's seat, but Tony lying there with his body burned and blank eyes staring into space. My heart raced, panic rising, and I reached out towards him, but a man stood there blocking my way._

"_I went forward in time to view alternate futures," he said, voice calm but confused. "Why were you never in them? Fourteen million one hundred and five different futures. Why didn't you exist?"_

"_You are… something else," the Maximoff woman murmured, switching with the man as her eyes glowed red. "You're different. Wrong, somehow."_

_Then, everything went black, leaving a soft, glowing blue cube in the center that sent a tingle of fear up my spine. My head throbbed and ached with every flare of its blue light._

_Anomaly._

_Then, I snapped awake._

* * *

I sat up in a panic, heart racing and breath coming out in short gasps. I found myself in a bedroom and confusion and fear added to the anxiety I was dealing with after my nightmare. My body throbbed as I forced myself up, stumbling to the door as my mind struggled to determine where I was and if I was still dreaming or not. A woman startled me when I managed to get downstairs.

"Oh, you're awake. That's good. Can I get you anything?" She asked, looking at me in concern. "Are you all right?"

I didn't know who she was, where I was, or anything that had happened after seeing those red-tinted eyes of the Maximoff girl. Not knowing what was going on or whether this woman was a threat or not, had me rushing out of the home. I made it to the porch before arms wrapped around me and my panic doubled. I swung my arm back, elbowing the person holding me in the gut and promptly flipping them over my shoulder and onto the wooden deck despite the pain it sent through my back and splinted arm.

"N-Nice throw," Clint grunted out as Steve rushed over, seeing the commotion with Tony from the front yard.

"Jess! What the hell are you doing!"

The woman from inside rushed to Clint's aid, eyeing me in uncertainty and fear, sobering me up slightly as I took a few paces away from them and Tony hurried toward me, hands held up to prevent anyone from approaching.

"Hold on! Hold on! Give her a minute! I don't think she's entirely coherent yet," he said, making the others eye me as I tried to calm down some.

"Coherent? She just threw me," Clint grunted, getting helped up and Tony winced.

"Yes, well, she _has_ been taking lessons from Natasha."

"Tony," Steve grumbled, and he frowned.

"Just like you guys, she has a past too. It just so happens that her past is bad enough to warrant getting violent if things get out of hand, okay? She just needs a minute to calm down without anyone touching her, okay?"

Steve's eyes widened as understanding began to dawn on him. "She was abused?"

"Steve," Tony said darkly.

He nodded, going quiet and leaving the questions for another time, which I was grateful for. I'd finally relaxed some, breathing much calmer now that I had a familiar face and voice, but still a bit tense. Tony held his hands up and moved towards me slowly, watching me for any sign that he was getting too close too soon, but for once in my life, I wanted him here. I wanted him right in front of me, holding me close so I could confirm that this was really him. That he was alive and breathing, not just a burnt corpse with soulless eyes. He moved a bit closer and I surprised him by closing the distance and wrapping my good arm around his neck as I buried my face into his shoulder. He was rigid for a second before holding me in return and patting my back lightly, being careful not to hold me too tight with my injured arm between us.

"Well, this is new," he murmured, before clearing his throat. "We're, uh… We're hiding at Clint's place for now. Keeping out of Ultron's sight and the media's. You okay?"

I shook my head slightly, tightening my grip for a moment and he cleared his throat once more, nodding for the others to give us some space to talk. They went off—Steve being the only one remaining in sight and he was still out of hearing range as he chopped at some wood nearby.

"Jess, what's going on? Not that I don't enjoy this, but it isn't like you," Tony mused, moving us to a couple of chairs.

"Nightmare," I murmured.

He frowned. "But you were fine."

I shrugged, dragging a hand down my face with a grimace. "I-I don't know. Delayed reaction? I just… You know how I am about those memories, and for a moment on the jet… before I went after Bruce, I thought I… I thought I saw him."

"He's _dead,_ Jess."

"I know. I _know_," I bit out, leaning my head on my hand as my elbow rested on the table. "But ever since that stupid cube… You _know_ how real they seem. They're even worse now because of her. Because of… of whatever she did."

"She did the same thing to you as the others."

I shook my head. "No. No, something was different. I-I don't know if it was her or me, but… I can't… I can't remember anything that happened after she tried to mess with my head."

"What? But you… You were trying to calm down Bruce. _Saved_ two civilians at the cost of breaking your arm and you… you don't remember any of that?"

I glanced at the sling with a frown. "No. I thought… I-I didn't know I was out of my nightmare. I thought these were from…"

"From him? Jess, he _is_ gone. I've read the reports. There's no way he would have survived—"

"You think I don't know that?" I bit out, grinding my teeth and tugging my hair. "But he's _not_ gone. He won't ever _be_ gone. Not for me. I-I just threw Clint to the ground because of a damn nightmare about him! How am I supposed to forget about him when—"

"Think about me instead," Tony cut me off.

"Tony, now isn't the time to—"

"I mean it, Jess," he said seriously, making me look up at him in uncertainty. "Any time he pops up in your dreams, picture me there. You know I won't let him hurt you."

I scoffed but managed a small smile at that. "You're such a knight, aren't you?"

He smiled, taking my hand and rubbing my knuckles with his thumb. "A knight in shining red armor."

My smile faltered though, remembering the other part of the nightmare. The part with him.

"Tony, I—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark?" Clint's wife called out, eyeing us apologetically. "Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you and your wife might—"

"Yeah, I'll give her a kick," he said the same time I responded.

"I'm not his wife."

She smiled, though the twinkle in her eyes said she didn't quite believe me. "Of course. I'm Laura, by the way. If you need anything, let me know. Jess, right? Clint's told me a bit about you. The, uh… smart-aleck glue that's holding everyone together, I think he said."

"Oh, did he now?" I grumbled, giving said man's back a look that had him shuffling his kid away from the front door.

"Come on, Jess. You give him a good scolding later," Tony mused with a smile, holding out his hand to me with a flourishing bow. "My lady."

"Don't call me that." I rolled my eyes, accepting his hand up and cringing. "Jesus, what hit me?"

"Oh, a big slab of concrete thrown by guess who?"

I sensed a bit of bitterness and lightly smacked his arm. "Don't blame Bruce."

"He nearly crushed you with concrete."

"And I'm sure he already feels terrible without you adding to it," I countered. "Would it kill you to forgive and forget when the team is already in shambles?"

"Yes."

I gave his ear a sharp tug and he winced.

"All right! All right! I won't blame the green guys. Sheesh."

"You're such a child sometimes," I muttered as we entered the shed where the tractor was.

"Hello, Deere," Tony joked, giving me a wiggle of his brow at the pun as I gave the vehicle a look as well. "Tell me everything. What ails you?"

"Do me a favor," a familiar voice called out and I resisted a groan as Tony and I both looked over to where Fury had mysteriously stepped out of the shadows. "Try _not_ to bring it to life."

"Why, Ms. Barton, you little minx," Tony drawled, giving me a look. "You sure you two aren't related?"

"I'd be honored if we were," I drawled, leaning against the tractor tire and dragging my hand through my hair. "Maria called?"

Fury ignored the inquiry. "Artificial intelligence. You never even hesitated."

"Look, it's been a really long day, like Eugene O'Neill long," Tony said, gesturing at me. "And Jess has a migraine on top of a concussion she just woke up from. We don't need to stress her out any more than we have to. So, how's about we skip to the part where you're useful?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down," Fury demanded.

"You're not the director of me," Tony argued.

"I'm not the director of anybody. I'm just an old man who cares very much about you." Fury leaned over to look past Tony at me. "Both of you, believe it or not."

I snorted but said nothing, willing to let this play out between them without my involvement unless I felt it'd be needed. Tony was right in saying I had a migraine and I didn't want to aggravate it.

"And I'm the man who killed the Avengers," Tony declared, surprising me. "I saw it. I didn't tell the team, or even you, Jess. How could I?"

I pushed myself off the tire, heading over with a frown. _Were they able to see visions too? Is __**that**__ what that woman—Wanda Maximoff… Is that what she did? Not only showed them nightmares but showed them a possible future?_

"I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world too. Because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could," Tony said, slowly moving back away from Fury and me.

"Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear."

"I wasn't tricked, I was _shown_," Tony pressed. "It wasn't a nightmare. It was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on."

"You come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War isn't one of them," Fury said, standing and giving me a look. "Jess wouldn't be standing here beside you if it was."

Tony didn't look convinced. "I watched my friends die. You'd think that'd be as bad as it gets, right? Nope," he scoffed. "It wasn't the worst part."

"The worst part, is that you didn't," Fury concluded. "What about Jess, hm? I'm surprised you didn't say anything about her."

Tony frowned, looking to me. "Yeah… Odd thing was, you were never in it."

"Really?" Fury questioned, also eyeing me now and I frowned.

"Like _I_ know what she's capable of? Or why she didn't use me?"

"Could be she wasn't able to," Fury offered with a shrug. "You said you could speak with the Tesseract before, didn't you?"

"This isn't the Tesseract though."

"But it's the scepter, which has always had a connection with the cube," Fury countered. "When you were caught by the girl, what happened?"

"I-I… I'm not sure. I don't remember anything that happened afterward. Just… pain."

"That's different," Tony said, leaning against the tractor. "None of the others had physical pain."

"Is there anything you remember? Anything at all?"

I hesitated, remembering the words she'd said and the dreams I'd been having, and they noticed.

"What? What is it, Jess?" Tony pressed and Fury frowned.

"You've been hiding something."

"Look, I… I don't understand it. None of it, really, but I've been having these… dreams. Ever since talking with the Tesseract. They're just fragments, whispers, but they… they keep happening. I… I had a dream about New York. When you fell out of the portal, Tony."

"Like a vision?" Fury questioned dubiously and I scowled.

"I told you, I don't get it either, but I keep having them. Images and flashes of things that maybe won't happen, or maybe they will. I don't get it, but when she… When the girl looked at my mind, she said something that I've heard in those dreams. That… That the Tesseract called me…" I paused for a second and looked at them both. "She called me wrong. The Tesseract called me an anomaly. The dream I had today… There was a man who said I'm not meant to exist."

"But you obviously exist," Fury countered. "This could just be her playing on your fears like everyone else."

"No. No, because my biggest fear isn't not existing," I argued. "I've already lived my biggest fear, and those memories were replayed for me. This is something different. The Tesseract showed me that I wasn't meant to exist in this world a-and I don't know what that means. I've tried to figure it out by myself because I didn't know what else to do," I explained to Tony, swallowing back a hint of fear. "I didn't want to say anything, because if these dreams are real, then…"

"Then, what?" Tony questioned.

"Then, she has foreknowledge of what is going to happen," Fury concluded, giving me a serious look. "And it isn't in any way good."

I shook my head, my eyes trailing towards the ground. "No… No, it's not."

"But if they _are_ true, then you could tell us," Tony said hopefully. "Prevent that future from happening."

I snapped my head back up feeling my heart race at the thought. "No. No, I can't. I can't tell you."

"Why not? Jess, we could _save_ people!" Tony pressed.

"There's nothing _to_ tell," I argued. "I only get flashes, not enough to give any help beforehand. And even if I could…" I wrapped my hand around my stomach. "It doesn't feel right. I feel like it would only make things worse. _Way_ worse, and I don't want to know what could be worse than that future."

"So, you're saying that because you were able to speak with the Tesseract, you now have glimpses of the future. And it's due to that connection you had, that something went wrong when the Maximoff girl tried to corrupt you," Fury summarized. "The thing is, this means we _know_ what she showed you, Tony, is false. Jess wasn't in it because that girl couldn't use her to manipulate you. It's proof that she was just manipulating your fears to try and split the group apart."

"So… what now?" I asked, feeling a bit raw and tense after finally admitting what had been bothering me for ages.

"Now, we work on bringing the team back together," Tony declared, definitively, giving me a soft smile that helped me relax.

His reaction to what I'd just said had been the most important to me, and it was good to know that he wasn't about to fight with me on anything. That, and it made me happy to know that what I'd seen in my dreams had allowed him to come to terms with the nightmare Wanda had shown him. _Now, to get the others back on their game._ We headed back to the house as dinner was served, calming down those who were not pleased to see Fury had joined us. And even though Thor was still missing, Fury went ahead and started up the conversation everyone needed to hear once dinner was finished.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something," he said as I eyed the little girl who came in and gave Natasha a picture she'd drawn of a butterfly. "The amount of vibranium he made off with… I don't think it's just one thing."

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

"Oh, he's easy to track. He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit."

Steve made a face at the metaphor as I snorted, tossing a dart with my good arm and giving Tony a proud look when I hit near the bullseye.

"It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though," Fury added.

"Is he still going after launch codes?" Tony questioned, hitting the bullseye on the dot and making me click my tongue.

"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway."

Even I was surprised to hear that.

"I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare," Tony scoffed.

"Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that."

"Nexus?" Steve questioned, getting answered by Bruce.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."

"So, what did they say?" Clint asked.

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed."

"An ally?" I questioned, thinking of what sort of mentality a person would need to do that when I realized no _human_ would be capable. "Could Jarvis have survived somehow? No human has the thinking power to change it and keep up with something like Ultron."

"Could be anyone with a supercomputer," Tony argued. "Get the right algorithm going and it would take Ultron too long to crack it before the password changed."

I grunted, not knowing enough about computers to be able to argue his logic, shooting Clint a small glare when he tossed a dart at the bullseye right past my nose. He just shrugged with a sheepish smile as Tony continued.

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our unknown."

"Well, this is good times, boss," Natasha jumped in, eyeing Fury distastefully. "But I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."

"I do. I have you," Fury said, earning more than a few winces.

The group was still sore from Wanda's nightmares—some more than others.

"Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So, stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk," Natasha joked, earning a complaint from said man.

"You know what, Romanoff?"

She smirked, and I chuckled as Fury looked between us.

"So, what does he want?"

"To become better," Steve replied. "Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

"Person bodies," Tony added. "The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

I frowned, twirling the dart in my fingers. "Hold on a minute. What if he's not coming back to it for himself."

They looked to me, confused.

"Explain," Fury said, but before I could, Bruce figured it out.

"They need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve."

I snapped my fingers at him, nodding as Fury eyed him.

"How?"

"With someone with better tech than us. Someone who is capable of recreating the human body into something better. Something more… indestructible. Capable of changing itself to suit the environment, the situation with ease," I offered, and Bruce looked at everyone.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

"_Shit_," I cursed.

"Ah!" Tony lightly chided as Steve groaned.

"God, I should have known," I complained, rubbing my head. "When Ultron first jumped us at that party, he went after Cho. We should have protected her from the start."

"No use panicking about it now," Fury said, sipping his drink. "Looks like you guys finally have a place to go. I look forward to never having to do a pep-talk like this again."

I snorted. "If it makes you feel any better, it's usually me."

"With more violence," Tony teased, wincing when I smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Go get ready. And don't think I'm staying here just because of this," I said, lifting my injured arm.

"Jess, I really don't think—" Steve started, but hastily cut himself off at my glare. "I'm not going to convince you, am I?"

"Not on your life."

Tony walked towards him and pat him on the shoulder. "Don't argue with the missus."

"I'm not your missus!"


	22. Chapter 22

**I'll be doing Captain America Civil War after this movie, but then I'm debating. I want to do Doctor Strange with Jess. Help her cope with some things she's dealing with as well as giving someone who deals with manipulating the universe someone who's not technically _from_ this universe. So, the question for you readers is...**

**Do I include "Doctor Strange" (the movie) in this fic or make a side fic specifically for that movie?**

**Tony will be mentioned, but not actually in it (unless necessary), but Jess will be heavily featured and everything that happened in this fic to Jess will _have_ to be known before reading it if I make it a side fic. Any suggestions from you all would be helpful.**

* * *

"_Did you guys copy that_?" Steve questioned over the comms and I hummed as Clint and Natasha confirmed it.

I'd been stuck joining them in the jet while Steve went down to check on Cho and Tony went to the internet hub to figure out who was helping us. _Don't know why. If they're helping us, just leave them be._

"I've got a private jet taking off across town," Natasha called out, but I shook my head.

"Too obvious and too small. They need to be able to carry a case larger than a man. That won't fit between the seats of a private jet."

"There," Clint pointed out, drawing my gaze away from my computer and to what he was looking at. "It's a truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge."

"It's them," I confirmed. "Three in the back with the cradle, one driver."

"I could take out the driver."

"_Negative. That truck crashes, the gem could level the city._"

"Not to mention crashing a truck on that bridge could kill dozens," I grumbled, typing quickly on my computer.

"_We need to draw out Ultron._"

"Easy. Just keep interrupting his download. If we're lucky, the download might end up corrupted the more we make him plug in and out of it." I winced, bringing a hand to my head suddenly.

_A flash of light as something large struck the Earth._

_Different colored gems gathering together._

_A red-skinned man with a golden gem._

_A cloaked man with a green._

_A snap._

"Shit," I cursed, getting up from my seat and stumbling further back into the jet, making Natasha look at me.

"What is it?"

"I-It's nothing," I ground out, head feeling as though someone was hammering a spike into it. "Migraine."

"Which usually mean _something_," Clint called back. "What's Ultron up to?"

I shot him a glare. "I'm not connected to Ultron."

"But you _are_ connected to the scepter," Natasha confirmed, and I groaned as the pain began to subside.

"Fine. Ultron's stopped caring about mankind. He can't save them the way they are, so he plans to wipe them out completely so they can evolve. If he fully integrates with that body, we're screwed."

"Good to know. You hear that, Cap?"

"_Keep him angry. Already on it,_" Steve grunted out and I returned to my seat with a small cringe, rubbing my head while I checked up on him.

"You're not a match for him, Cap," Clint said, eyeing him from above.

"_Thanks, Barton._"

"Don't try to beat him then, Steve," I added. "Stall for time. Trick him. Anything you've got."

"_Least somebody believes in me._"

"Well…"

He groaned. "I swear, I'm going to have a talk with—"

"Ooh, boy," I muttered watching him fight Ultron on top of the truck as Natasha prepared her bike.

"Got a window," Clint called out, counting down. "Four, three… Give him hell."

Natasha sped out of the jet and picked up Steve's shield. "_I'm always picking up after you boys_."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"They're heading under the overpass. I've got no shot," Clint said as I got up once more and winced, taking off my sling. "What are you doing?"

"Can't wear my suit with a sling on."

"_Jess, we don't need—_"

"Don't be rude, first off," I cut Steve off. "Second, you do, because you lot always forget about civilians when you're fighting. You and Natasha focus on Ultron. I'll worry about the people in between."

"_She's got a point,_" Natasha added.

"_Fine, but don't do anything crazy! I don't want to hear it when Tony finds out._"

"He'll get over it," I scoffed, tapping my watch to get my suit on. "See you in a sec."

Clint sighed, before opening the jet one more. "Good luck."

"Thanks." I flew out and stayed low, breezing over cars and making it to the truck just as Natasha slipped her bike under it. "Nice."

"Thanks," she chirped, tossing Steve his shield and allowing him to knock Ultron off him.

Ultron scowled, using his abilities to uplift a chunk of concrete in front of Natasha, but she was able to stop her bike in time and get back into the chase.

"You've really got to teach me how to ride a bike like that," I hummed, firing off a shot at the two Iron Legion bots in the back of the truck firing at her.

Steve was thrown off the back of the truck then though, and slammed into a car, forcing me to stop. Ultron threw up another slab of concrete, flipping the car he was on and I cursed, flying over and pushing one car out of the way and grabbing his car. I grunted and managed to place it back on the ground, only to have to grab a third car and stop it from completely flipping over towards us.

"Borrowing your back!" Steve called out and I braced myself as he pushed off me and back onto the truck.

"Everyone all right!" I called out to the drivers in the cars and upon having my suit confirm they were in decent shape, I hurried back.

_That could have ended poorly, _I mused, having the local authorities called to deal with blocking off that road and starting to redirect traffic away from the street we were driving on. Clint swooped down once the truck was out of the overpass, firing at Ultron just to get the two Legion bots after him and out of our way.

"Clint, fly up as high as you can. They're not suited for the upper atmosphere," I hinted.

"_Will do._"

The bots flew up after him and I looked around with a cringe. A train was now speeding alongside us and I hastily flew through a window, starling the passengers.

"Head towards the front or back of the train!" I called out, thanking Tony for putting in a translator so I didn't have to worry about trying to remember old Korean lessons from high school. "Quickly!"

It was good timing too, because a moment later, Steve and Ultron came crashing through.

"You got it, Steve?" I asked.

"Yeah! Go!"

I nodded and got out of the train, a chill going down my spine when Ultron's red gaze followed me for a second before he had to dodge Steve's shield.

"_They're heading back towards you,_" Clint informed us, not having gotten high enough to short-out the bots. "_So, whatever you're gonna do, do it now._"

"_I'm going in,_" Natasha called out, coming up beside me. "Cap, can you keep him occupied?"

"_What do you think I've been doing?_"

I landed inside the truck with her as she leaped off her bike. "I'll do what I can if the bots try coming after us through the back. See what you can do about the cradle."

She nodded, starting to try and stop the download, but just as I got ready to fight the bots coming towards us, they diverted to the side.

"Uh, they just diverted."

"What?"

The entire back of the truck shifted, forcing me to grab a hold of Natasha to stop her falling out as I shoved a hand through the truck to keep myself upright.

"_Okay, package is airborne,_" Clint called out. "_I have a clean shot._"

"Negative. Jess and I are still in the truck," Natasha snapped.

"_What the hell are you—_"

"Just be ready. I'm sending the package to you. Jess will get me out."

I acted as her brace, allowing her to get stabilized enough to start cutting at the straps holding the cradle.

"_How do you want me to take it?_" Clint questioned.

"Uh, you might wish you hadn't asked that."

"How you doing, Cap?" I asked.

"_Actually… the Maximoffs showed up._"

I stiffened. "Do you need me to—"

"_No. Surprisingly enough, they're… helping._" There was a noise then. "_I lost him! He's heading your way! Any tips for how to stop a runaway train?_"

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me," I grumbled. "Emergency brake? Otherwise, get in front and slow it down, Cap."

"_Nat, we've gotta go,_" Clint called out, the ship ready at the back of the train and Natasha cut the last strap and slapped a bomb on the side of the truck.

She shot me a look and I nodded, grabbing her around the waist as we followed the cradle out and into the jet. Then, my ankle was grabbed. My eyes snapped to Ultron's angered snarl and Natasha's eyes flickering to mine before I made a decision.

"Make sure Tony doesn't do anything stupid."

"Jess, what—No!" She shouted as I threw her into the jet and Ultron pulled me down.

"Well, hello again."

* * *

"Anything on Jess?" Bruce questioned cautiously, eyeing Tony.

Jess getting caught had him more than a little tense. Everyone was, really. She was the one who always stuck her neck out for them. Bruce and Tony wouldn't be talking right now if she hadn't handled the frustrated Tony when the Hulk hurt her. Natasha and the cradle could have been taken if she hadn't prioritized them over herself. That, and she seemed to have the best idea of what Ultron was up to than any of them. They were slowly beginning to realize now how often she had to hold their hands in order for the group to get along and get things done. Without her, it was only a matter of time before fights broke out.

"I haven't heard. But she's alive, or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it," Tony bit out, finally answering him.

"This is sealed tight," Clin informed, hopping over the cradle and eyeing Tony with Natasha at his side.

"We're going to need to access the program," Bruce explained. "Break it down from within."

"Hm," Tony grunted, before turning to Natasha and Clint. "Any chance you two could see if Jess might leave a message outside the internet? Old-school spy stuff?"

Clint eyed him. "Why can't you—"

"I'm good with tech," Tony explained. "Jess is smart though, can probably figure something out with a paperclip and a tube of toothpaste. Figured you two would be better searching for that than me."

"There's some nets I can cast," Clint agreed. "Yeah, we'll find her."

Tony watched the two head downstairs as Bruce went back to work.

"I can work on tissue degeneration if you could fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."

"Yeah, about that," Tony started, rubbing the back of his head and Bruce eyed him warily.

"No."

"You have to trust me."

"Kind of don't," Bruce argued, taking a step back when Tony approached.

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes?" Tony smirked, flicking up a familiar golden image. "I found him."

"_Hello, Dr. Banner_," Jarvis hummed.

"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis because he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So, Jarvis went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together."

Bruce scoffed. "So, you want me to help you put Jarvis into this thing?"

"No! Of course not. I wanna help _you_ put Jarvis in this thing."

Bruce shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around what Tony was asking of him.

"We're out of my field here. You know bio-organics better than anyone."

"And you just assume that Jarvis's operational matrix can beat Ultron's?"

"Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to."

"_I believe it's worth a go_," Jarvis agreed.

"I'm in a loop!" Bruce said with a shake of his head. "I'm caught in a time loop. This is exactly where it all went wrong."

"I know. I know. I know what everyone's gonna say, but they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy. We've gotta own it. Make a stand… It's not a loop. It's the end of the line."

"And Jess? You're just gonna forget about her? What would she think of this?"

Tony's gaze went cold. "I would _never_ forget about Jess. You think I'm just going to pretend she isn't out there? Why do you think I'm doing this? This? This is Jess's one chance of getting out of there alive. Of someone beating Ultron and making sure she is safe."

"Tony, I don't think—"

"No," he cut him off jaw tight. "She wouldn't want this, but what choice do I have? None of us can beat him. You saw that. And I'm not going to risk her safety just because this has a two percent chance of failure."

Bruce sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue against Tony at this point. "For Jess, then."

Tony nodded. "For Jess."

* * *

I grimaced, head aching as I wearily pushed myself up from the ground, cradling my injured arm. It throbbed consistently, letting me know what using my suit while it was hurt was more than stupid. _Hold on. Where __**is**__ my suit?_ I looked around then, noticing my surroundings and the robotic man standing across from me as he spoke.

"I wasn't sure you would wake up. I hoped you would. I wanted to show you. I don't… have anyone else."

I hesitated, hearing what I thought was a sense of loneliness. _Is he becoming more… human?_ "W-What about the Maximoffs?"

His red gaze landed on me and I resisted the urge to flinch. He was still very much connected to the scepter that seemed to dislike me. _I'll have to try a bit harder not to piss him off. I don't know what sort of influence the scepter has on him, and I don't doubt that it isn't good._

"Gone. Switched sides, apparently," he grunted. "I think a lot about meteors. The purity in them. Boom! The end. Start again," he rambled, and I winced, bringing a hand to my head as that image of something crashing into the Earth flickered through my mind. "The world made clean for the new man to rebuild. I was meant to be new," he said, stalking towards me as I backed up a bit. "I was meant to be beautiful. The world would have looked to the sky and seen hope, seen mercy. Instead, they'll look up in horror because of you."

"I'm not part of the Avengers," I argued.

"No. You're dating them, so you might as well be," he countered. "You've wounded me. I give you full marks for that."

"I didn't touch you," I continued, brows furrowed. _He's blurring the lines. He's not just after the Avengers, but anyone who's similar._

He ignored me. "But, like the man said, what doesn't kill me—"

I jerked back when a hand punched right through him, revealing another _better _Ultron behind.

"…just makes me stronger." He was standing right in front of me now as I swallowed thickly before he reached down and hauled me up by my throat. "You though… You're curious. Something about you makes me just want to…"

I choked, pawing at his arm uselessly as he tightened his grip to the point that black spots were quick to fill my vision. Then, it loosened, and I gasped for breath.

"What is it? You know what it is, I'm sure. You were frightened of me from the start, as though you knew what I was capable of before I'd even gotten there."

"I-I didn't," I croaked out.

"No, but you did, didn't you? Something made you cautious of me. The others, they… underestimated me. You knew better. You didn't fight me because you knew you wouldn't win. Just as you didn't join in on the raid on that ship when I got the vibranium. That goes beyond human instinct. So, tell me. What is it about me that scared you so much?"

I stayed silent and he sighed.

"Really. I didn't want to do this. I'm honestly not the torturing type. Meteors, like I said. Swift, quick. Like breaking a bone."

I bit back a cry of pain, whimpering with tears in my eyes as he snapped my already injured arm.

"Let's try again. Why are you frightened of me?"

"I-It's not you," I bit out, glaring. "It was never you."

He scowled. "Explain."

"The scepter," I muttered. "Y-You were created from it, from whatever's inside it. _That's_ what scares me. B-Back at the attack in New York… I could… communicate with it in a way, with the Tesseract too. The scepter hated me. That's just the feeling I got from it, and you…" I grimaced, throat sore and a burning pain coming from my arm as blood dripped to the floor. "…you're it… with legs. I didn't doubt that it would come after me, and you proved me right." I scoffed. "You should have gone after the jet."

His frown deepened and he threw me back against the wall, igniting even more pain from both my arm and still bruised back as I crumpled to the ground. He closed a set of metal bars, shutting me into the small space and storming off. _A-All right. Did exactly what I didn't want to do. I pissed him off… But…_ I looked around where he'd left me, seeing some old radio equipment. _Look at the treasure trove he shut me in. _I heaved myself back up off the ground, eyeing my arm with a cringe and clenching my eyes shut. _Not good. The bone is…_ I swallowed back a round of bile, tipping my head back and letting in and out long, deep breaths. _No, it's fine. I can deal with it._

I reached down and lifted my shirt, using my teeth and good arm to tear it into strips as best I could. It was sloppy, but I managed and using that and some metal pipes, I made a make-shift splint. I let out a long breath, tired already probably due to blood loss on top of everything else. Sweat slipped down the side of my face and I shifted towards the equipment. _Let's see how long this takes with one hand. Tony, I hope you're looking for me and not making a stupid mistake._

"I really need to put my foot down with them," I murmured under my breath, stripping a wire with my teeth. "I'm not their damn babysitter."

* * *

Steve stormed into the lab with Wanda and Pietro behind him, feeling anger rolling in his stomach as he saw Bruce and Tony working on the cradle _without_ the intention of shutting it down like they were meant to.

"I'm gonna say this once."

"How about none-ce," Tony quipped, not in the mood to deal with the flashy hero.

"Shut it down!"

"Nope, not gonna happen."

"You don't know what you're doing."

"And you do?" Bruce challenged, eyeing Wanda behind him. "She's not in your head?"

"I know you're angry," Wanda tried, but he scoffed.

"Oh, we're way past that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

"Banner, after everything that's happened—" Steve cut in instead, attempting to ease the tension he knew was brought by having the kids behind him.

"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Tony shouted.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda shouted back with Steve.

"This isn't a game!"

Pietro looked between them all and sped through the place, unhooking everything and shutting the power down. "No, no. Go on. You were saying?"

There was a gunshot, and everyone blinked as the bullet came up from underneath Pietro and he fell through the floor. Clint pinning his legs with a smirk.

"What? You didn't see that coming?"

An alarm went off and Steve turned back to the computer. "I'm rerouting the upload."

Steve shook his head, throwing his shield and Tony grit his teeth, drawing his suit in and firing off a shot to knock Steve down. Wanda went to help, but Bruce grabbed her from behind until she threw him back as well. Then, Thor slid into the room from seemingly nowhere, climbed on top of the cradle and use his lightning to power it up to the point of near overload. The cradle cracked open and a red-skinned man landed on the rim, silencing the fighting in an instant.

He threw himself at Thor, who proceeded to pass him over his shoulder and he nearly crashed into the window before pulling himself to a halt—eyeing the city just outside. Thor landed behind him, holding out a hand to stop Steve when he joined. Thor put his hammer down as the rest wandered over and the man landed before them—wearing black now for decency.

"I'm sorry. That was… odd. Thank you," he said to Thor, adding a cape to his outfit upon seeing Thor's.

"Thor," Steve called, hesitant about what was going on. "You helped create this?"

"I've had a vision," Thor explained. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that." He gestured to the gem in the other man's forehead.

"What? The gem?"

"It's the Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

"Then, why would you bring—"

"Because Stark is right," Thor said seriously.

"Oh, it's definitely the end times," Bruce complained.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron."

"Not alone," the new figure said.

"Why does your Vision sound like Jarvis?" Steve questioned.

"We reconfigured Jarvis's matrix to create something new," Tony explained, as they eyed the person—Vision.

"I think I've had my fill of new."

"You think I am a child of Ultron," Vision mused.

"You're not?" Steve argued.

"I'm not Ultron. I am not Jarvis. I am… I am."

Wanda eyed him. "I looked in your head and saw annihilation."

"Look again."

Clint scoffed. "Her seal of approval means jack to me."

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone," Thor explained. "And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side—"

"Is it?" Steve questioned, very untrusting of this new… _person_. "Are you? On our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple," Vision said.

"Well, it better get real simple real soon," Clint said shortly, but Natasha put a hand on his arm, surprising him.

"I am on the side of life," Vision replied. "Ultron isn't. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asked, seeing that Vision might know better than even Jess, what Ultron was up to.

"You… and Jess."

"He _has_ Jess."

Vision nodded. "Which is very dangerous if he finds out what she is capable of. The knowledge she holds."

"Knowledge? What are you talking about?" Steve asked, and Natasha surprisingly spoke up.

"She has visions," she muttered. "Like Thor did."

"How?" Thor questioned in disbelief.

"I don't know. She had one in the jet on the way to stop Ultron. I thought it had to do with her connection to the scepter and the Tesseract."

"Something awakened within her," Tony said, looking to the others. "You all saw it. Her eyes changed. She would say things, prepare for things we didn't even know about. She… She just told me she could see glimpses of the future. Her dreams, her nightmares, her headaches, and migraines. All of those hinted at things that were going to happen."

"When did she tell you that?" Steve asked, brows furrowed.

"In Barton's little cozy shack with Fury. What did she say on the jet?"

Clint shrugged, but Natasha remembered.

"Ultron's stopped caring about mankind. She said he plans to wipe them out completely so they can evolve and if he fully integrated with that body, we're screwed."

"That was the same vision I saw when I looked into his mind, Ultron's plans," Wanda murmured.

"But why would the scepter help her?" Natasha questioned. "Ever since Ultron showed up, Jess has been scared of it. She told me it was because he was like the scepter but with legs."

"She said the scepter didn't like her to begin with," Tony explained. "Now, it has a way to attack her. Anyone would be scared."

"But the scepter _is_ him," Bruce said, looking to Vision. "Isn't it?"

Vision nodded. "The Mind Stone was what she communicated with, which was held in the scepter."

"So, you hate Jess," Tony concluded, taking a step forward threateningly.

"Not necessarily. Jess is… complicated."

"You could say that again," Clint snorted.

"I do not mean mentally," Vision mused. "She is actually very straight-forward in that aspect. However… she is not really… here."

"I don't understand," Steve said as Vision mulled about the best way to explain.

"She is wrong," Wanda cut in, looking around at the others. "When I tried to step into her mind, as I did with all of you, it was… difficult. Dangerous."

"I had to carry her out," Pietro agreed. "She was in great pain."

"Jess was too," Clint recalled, and Vision nodded.

"Because she is not meant to be here. This is not—technically speaking—her world."

"So, she's an alien now?" Tony scoffed.

"She is human, but she is wrong, as she said. Events wrap around her instead of touching her. Her path is ever-changing and when she reaches out, interferes, things change in accordance."

"Like the butterfly effect," Tony concluded, and Vision nodded. "But you said Ultron is looking for her, and he _has_ her."

"But he does not know what she is capable of. He will feel as I do and will understand that there is something wrong about her, but so long as she does not reveal what is, then he will wait for you."

"Where?"

"Sokovia," Cling replied. "She got a hold of us. Suppose you owe Nat a thanks for teaching her Morse Code."

Tony nodded his appreciation to Natasha as Bruce stepped forward, eyeing Vision.

"If we're wrong about you… If you're the monster that Ultron made you to be…"

"What will you do?" Vision asked, silencing the group who knew they wouldn't honestly be able to stop him. "I don't want to kill Ultron," he admitted. "He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now, and not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go." He turned, lifting Thor's hammer and offering it to him.

The entire group went quiet, gaping at what had just happened and even Thor was stunned for a moment before tapping the hammer in his palm.

"Right. Well done," he praised Tony, patting his shoulder and following Vision out.

"Three minutes," Steve said then, unable to help knowing that Vision had just deemed himself trustworthy. "Get what you need."

"Wait, wait, wait," Tony called out, chasing after Vision and Thor, making them stop. "One thing. Just one. You got everyone to trust you just now, but me. Hammer, spammer. I only want to know one thing." He stepped up to Vision, eyes blazing. "Can you save Jess?"

Vision eyed him for a moment. "She is a complicated event. I cannot predict anything about her—"

"Yeah, I don't care. Will you save her?" Tony cut him off and slowly, Vision nodded.

"I will do my best."

"Good," Tony nodded definitively, starting to walk away.

"Why ask me?" Vision asked, making him pause. "Why ask me when you will be there as well?"

"Because those words you said… about not knowing if you were a monster…" Tony looked back at him. "Those were hers. Those were _her_ words. And I didn't want you around just because I wanted to save the world. I wanted you working to save _her._ So, if I failed that… I needed to know about whether my priority was to save her or stop Ultron. Now, I know that even if I fail, someone will get her safe for me."

* * *

"Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are, we'll be riding into heavy fire and that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So, our priority is getting them out. It's what Jess would have wanted. And after everything she's done for us, we can do that much for her. All they want is to live their lives in peace and that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them and we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Jess, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right."

* * *

"Jess! Jess!"

I shifted with a groan, bringing a hand to my head as I pushed myself up off the ground. I was dizzy for a second but quickly pushed past it, moving to the bars and calling out. "Bruce?"

He headed over, letting out a sigh of relief. "You all right?"

"Do I look okay to you?" I grumbled, looking down at my arm curled over my bare stomach. "He destroyed my suit."

"And your arm," Bruce muttered, giving me a look over as well. "The team's in the city. It's about to light up."

"Can you get me out?"

He smirked, lifting a gun and I shifted out of the way, letting him shoot the lock and pry the bars open.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked and he eyed me sadly.

"I'm here to get you to safety."

I frowned. "Not while there's people still out there."

"We can help with the evacuation."

I raised a brow. "You… You guys are evacuating?"

"The whole city, but I can't be in a fight near civilians and you're hurt. Not to mention all the stuff you've already done to help. Our fight is over."

"Yeah, think again," I scoffed, starting to walk out, holding out my free hand. "Comm."

"I-I didn't bring any."

"My God. Really? Why wouldn't you bring one?"

"T-They said it wouldn't matter. I was just to get you and get out."

I sighed. "Babysitting."

"What?"

"That's all I ever do with you lot. Babysit. I thought I might have half a chance when you said you'd started evacuating, but nope. No comms. No way to tell the others that I've figured out what Ultron's up to. No way to find out how far the evacuations are going. I don't even have a damn suit, so I can't just fly back." I paused then, eyeing the ceiling as the ground shook a bit. "And why can I feel the scepter? I haven't even _seen_ the scepter since I've been down here. I thought it was in the cradle." I whipped around to him as he looked awkwardly away, letting me know he was hiding something. "Bruce."

"Hm?"

"I may have only one arm, but I can still prod you enough to cause a problem," I challenged. "Why is the scepter here?"

"W-Well… it's not exactly the scepter anymore. It's sort of… a Jarvis-sounding red-skinned man with a gem in his head?"

I froze. "Red-skinned?"

"Uh, yeah."

"A golden gem?"

"How did you—"

I turned around quickly, moving twice as fast up the stairs. "Yeah, nope. Not dealing with that today. Let's just get out of here and get me to some sort of communication system before—"

A figure landed in front of me and I took a hesitant step back, eyeing the golden gem and red and black skin…_ Not skin?_

"Hello, Miss Jess."

"Just Jess… Thanks."


	23. Chapter 23

"Right, well, nice talk… Really," Jess muttered, stepping back some more and pushing Bruce behind her. "We were just leaving."

Vision sighed. "I'm not going to harm you, Miss Jess."

"Right, because I'm supposed to believe that coming from someone who—as far as I know—has hated me since we met? At least Ultron was polite enough to admit he hated me."

Vision eyed her injured arm and the bruising around her neck, eyes meeting her cautious, vibrant blue ones. "I do not hate you. The Mind Stone simply denies your existence and hates the idea of you."

"How comforting," Jess scoffed. "Look. I'm assuming you're a decent person since Bruce here hasn't tried to smash you yet, but I'm a bit busy. You know, the whole Ultron trying to destroy the world? So, I don't really have the time to deal with someone who hates me—Oh, sorry. I mean hates the _idea_ of me."

Vision sighed in exasperation. "I am simply here because Tony wished for me to ensure your safety."

Jess grit her teeth. "I swear to God if he's trying to smother me again, I'll—"

"You are in no condition to fight," Vision pressed.

"And you're all going to figure out sooner or later that there are other ways to fight than just beating people to a pulp. Do _you_ have comms at least?"

"I have the Mind Stone, which is connected—"

"That's a 'no,' smart guy. I need comms."

"What are you going to do?" Bruce questioned.

Jess pushed past Vision, back tense and resisting a shiver at being so close to him. "Use my head. Something _all_ of you should try at least once in your life. Ultron is still just an AI."

"With a legion of robots," Bruce muttered.

"Yes, which is what I'm hoping to deal with, if I could just get my hands on a set of comms."

Vision floated back in front of her. "What do you hope to achieve?"

She ran her eyes up and down him once, before brushing past him again. "He's using a network to control the bots. If I can hack into that, spread a virus that will short-circuit them, overload them, or something, then that's one less thing we have to worry about. It will give the rest of you a chance to focus on the evacuation and dealing with Ultron himself."

She found a computer console and tried to get it working, clicking her tongue in annoyance when it refused to power up and moving on.

"Sorry, you want to _hack_ Ultron?" Bruce questioned. "What makes you think you can do that? He'll notice the moment you try. Shut you out."

"I know Tony's systems inside and out. He made sure of that the moment I wanted to help him with his business and his suits. Ultron isn't able to hack _his_ suit because of a code he ensued was in it and the War Machine, but it's more basic than that. Tony and Rhodes' suits are ran by people, assisted by AIs. The Iron Legion was strictly made for AI compatibility. _That's_ why Ultron was able to control them so easily. If I can get into the network he's using and shut it down, I should be able to take out the bots," she explained, wincing when she faltered on a step and Vision grabbed her good arm to steady her.

"He's not using the internet to control them," Vision informed her as she pulled out of his grip. "As it is, I plan on erasing his presence from the internet to prevent his escape. He uses an isolated system to control the Legion."

Jess's brows furrowed for a moment as she considered this. "Then, if I give you a virus, a code, could you place it in his system somewhere? Ultron is ultimately the one thing connecting all the bots. If I can get to him, get _through_ his own outer security when you go to erase his presence in the internet, then I _should_ be able to work on his control of the bots."

"It might work," Bruce mused. "But why do you need comms to do that?"

Jess gave him a look. "I need comms because Ultron is planning something much bigger than just his bots. He's going to crash a meteor into the Earth."

"A _what_!"

Jess ignored him, eyeing Vision. "How far out is the evacuation perimeter? Does it reach past all of Slorenia?"

Vision shook his head. "Just inside the outer edge of the city. From the church outward."

"That's not far enough. They need to be completely out of the city. Even further, if possible," Jess bit out with a curse. "Shit. How far is the Quinjet?"

"Maybe five minutes' walk."

"Not enough time. Ah! A working computer!" Jess hurried over, typing as fast as she could and grimacing—using the fingers of her injured arm too. "It's already mostly set up. Making a virus using this technology should be easy. Give me a moment, then I just need to find a way to give it to you—"

"I can redirect it directly from the computer," Vision said, glancing upward. "But you need to hurry."

"Going as fast as I can, but it's not exactly easy when there's a bone sticking out of my arm."

Bruce's eyes widened. "You have an open arm fracture? Jess, you could get an infection without immediate—"

"No, offense, Bruce, but I'm not _going_ to get immediate medical attention in this situation. I did what I could the moment it happened, and that's as good as it'll get until we do something. Now do me a favor and tell me why you hate the other guy so much."

"Jess, what does that have to do with—"

"Just answer the question before I—Ah! Done!"

Vision closed his eyes, placing a hand on the computer before nodding. "I have it. I trust you'll be able to deal with the Legion if I transfer this directly into Ultron?"

"I'll need to get my computer from the Quinjet, but yes. Until he notices I'm in, I'll be able to do some damage. And, if I'm lucky and he fails to notice me for long enough, I'll be able to shut them down." She glanced at Vision, eyes narrowed. "I still don't trust you though."

"And you have every right not to," he replied. "Though I do hope we will speak again and come to a better understanding of one another. Perhaps when the situation is less dire."

"I'll think about it," she grumbled before waving him off. "Now, go. We've got people to help save."

He hurried off and Jess looked to Bruce, cradling her arm to her chest once more.

"You going to answer the question, or not?"

"Jess, I-I don't _hate_ him."

"Don't you? He seems to think so. The only reason he lashes out, you know, is because he's afraid of you," she explained as they started to leave once more.

"Me? _He's_ afraid of _me?_" Bruce laughed. "You _are_ kidding, right?"

"If Tony put you in a box, and the only way you were let out of the box was when he needed you to do something for him, you would do it, right?"

"Well—"

"Now, say the first time you were let out of the box, you got a bit carried away and made a mistake—one you didn't know would upset Tony. Now, Tony keeps you in the box, is scared to let you out. _Refuses_ to let you out unless he has no choice and someone else lets you out instead. Wouldn't you start to be afraid of him? When you get let out again, wouldn't you be scared he'll force you to go back into that box?"

"Jess, he's _killed_ people."

"We've _all_ killed people," Jess argued, shooting him a glare. "Natasha was forced to kill people her whole life. Steve was a soldier who killed people for his country. Tony was a weapon's manufacturer. Clint's a government agent who was picked for his skills in killing people. Hell, Thor's probably killed people, but I don't know him that well. Even I—" Jess grit her teeth, looking away for a moment before facing him with a cold expression Bruce never expected from her. "I killed my own father. If you can condemn him for making one mistake, for being scared and lashing out in self-defense—in defense of you—then you'll have to condemn all of us too."

Bruce was quiet, struggling to think over what Jess was telling him.

"You need to forgive him, Bruce," she muttered. "And forgive me for this."

"Wha—" Bruce's eyes went wide when Jess shoved him back into a large hole, only for the Hulk to jump back up with a roar.

"Hey, big guy. Sorry about the whole… pushing Bruce off."

The Hulk scoffed, cracking a smirk.

"Yeah, so think you can give me a lift?"

* * *

"Do you see the beauty of it?" Ultron asked as the ground cracked and split, lifting the city of Slorenia, Sokovia up into the air. "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers. You are my meteor—my swift and terrible sword—and the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

The Hulk threw himself up and onto the falling boulders, lifting him and his passenger back up onto the flying city. He landed haphazardly and Jess cursed, getting thrown off his back and into the dirt. It took her a moment to get up, pain making her vision swirl dangerously as the Hulk stood over her in uncertainty.

"J-Just give me a second," she breathed out, making sure the computer in her arms was unharmed and then cringing at the sight of the blood that soaked her make-shift splint. "Y-You know what? Just go. Go save people. I-I'll figure it out."

The Hulk hesitated, but soon grunted and rushed through the forest they'd landed in as Jess let out a heavy breath.

"Church… Right. Got to get to the church. Closer I am, better shot I have."

Meanwhile, Tony hovered uncertainly as he watched the city rise into the sky.

"_The vibranium core's got a magnetic feed,_" his new AI Friday informed him. "_That's what's keeping the rock together._"

"If it drops?" He asked.

"_Right now, the impact would kill thousands. Once it gets high enough? Global extinction._"

"Well, that's not good. Can you locate Jess? Is she safe?"

"_I am unable to locate Jess without a visual. She is not wearing her watch or her suit, which has been offline since she was taken._"

Tony cursed under his breath, just as he flew towards a collapsing building on the edge of the flying city.

"_That building's not clear. The 10__th__ floor._"

While he went to save the huddled family from the building, Steve was thrown off his feet and began to get everyone back on track.

"Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed… walk it off."

"_Well, aren't you Mr. Cheerful today._"

"Jess?"

"_Alive and well, though my arm could be better._"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Jess, you were supposed to get back to the ship with Bruce."

"_Or, I could work on helping you guys out, seeing as you've only just realized that Ultron was planning to use the city as a make-shift meteor. Would have told you earlier, but __**somebody**__ decided that giving Bruce a comm wouldn't be useful._"

"His priority was getting you out of there and safe. You can't fight in your condition," Steve replied, knocking a bot with his shield.

"_I swear if someone says that to me again, you're all going to regret it. I might go on vacation. And then what? Nobody around to babysit you. You'll probably start a fight, and everyone will head underground._"

"Jess just get back to the ship," Tony pressed.

"_I was just at the ship, thanks, and I found something I can still do to help __**without**__ having to physically fight. How isolated are these comms?_"

"Ultron can't hear, if that's what you're asking," Tony replied. "You have a plan?"

"_I think I know enough about your systems and computers that I should be able to get a virus around to the Legion bots. Vision helped me out by placing the starting virus inside Ultron. Now, I just have to stealthily work it through to whatever network he's using on the bots. I should be able to shut them down, but it'll take time._"

"You're a genius," Tony smiled.

"_Would be useless without all those stupid computer coding classes you made me take. Now, there's just a few problems._"

"You mean _other_ than the robots trying to kill everyone and the city flying in the sky?" Clint said sarcastically.

"_I can't think of any way to help with the city. Shutting it down no matter how high it is will cause casualties. Only way to minimize that is blowing it up._"

"Not helpful," Steve muttered.

"_Like I said, I've got nothing on that aspect. I… __**have**__ a way to help get the people off, but I've been informed that it may take a while. We need to hold out until then and get as many people towards the edges of the city as possible. I've also got blueprints on the bots._"

"Any weak points?" Tony asked, hopeful that she'd found something.

"_Not really. Same as with most bots. Aim for the joints. The head and chest have main components that will ensure they're down for good. Any wiring cut will either stop lubricant flow or power to whatever it's connected to. Basically, just power through them. There's not much, to be honest. Whoa!_"

"Jess? Jess!" Tony called out, worry filling him because she was helpless out there.

No suit, a broken arm and who knows what else Ultron may have done.

"_I'm fine! Thank God I haven't taken suppressants in a while._"

He let out a sigh of relief, having forgotten about her most recently gained fire abilities. "Jess, you should still get somewhere safe."

"_Yeah, well… The thing is, I kind of need to get as close to Ultron as possible to get the best possible connection to his Legion network._"

"Oh, no. You're not. Please tell me, you're not."

"_Well, sorry to say it, but I am heading for the building across from the church. Nobody knows I'm around, which is the plus to not having my suit right now. And the bot I just dealt with was melted before it knew who attacked it._"

"All right, we're all clear here," Clint chimed in—him and Wanda having defeated all the bots in their section of town.

"We are _not_ clear here!" Steve said, throwing his shield into one of more than two dozen bots in his section. "We are very not clear!"

"All right. Coming to you."

"_Uh, I think Thor just got thrown into the church by Ultron,_" Jess muttered over the comms.

"He'll be fine. Vision is still there," Tony replied, finally getting a lock on where Jess was after changing Friday's search for high-temperature living cells. _She's not far._ "Just stay out of their way."

"_Oh, trust me. I plan on it._"

"Jess, how long until you've got something with these Legion bots?" Steve asked, throwing his shield to Natasha to help her out before taking it back and destroying the bot hassling them.

"_Uh, not sure. Thing is, I could take out some right now, but it'll alert Ultron what I'm up to. I was hoping to get the maximum number of bots before I give myself away. He'll be able to backtrack me the moment I do it, so it'd be nice to actually __**not**__ be a sitting broken-armed duck when I get around to it._"

"Is there anything you can do about the evac?"

"_They should be close._"

"What have you got, Stark?" Steve questioned, hoping to have better information from his end as far as stopping the city from wiping out the Earth.

"Huh? Nothing great," Tony murmured, looking at the one option he had and not being thrilled. "Just what Jess mentioned. I've got a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan," Steve snapped, hoping for _anything_ better.

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."

"_He's right. Everything I'm seeing is a bust. Ultron planned this out well. Can't reverse the thrusters or anything. Try, and it'll send it down even faster._"

"Cap, these people are going nowhere," Natasha pressed, stepping up beside Steve. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock—"

"Not till everyone's safe."

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there? There's no math there."

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"I didn't say we should leave," Natasha informed him, making him glance at her. "There's worse ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"_Glad you like the view, Romanoff,_" A familiar voice chimed in through their comms. "_It's about to get better._"

"_About time you got here, Fury,_" Jess huffed. "_I almost thought you weren't gonna show._"

"_Oh, ye of little faith._"

"_Don't start with me, Fury. I gave you access to these comms, I can just as easily take it away and flood your ship with 'Baby Shark' on repeat instead._"

"_I'd rather you didn't. Nice though, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do._"

"Fury, you son of a bitch," Steve grinned.

"_Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?_" Fury teased as lifeboats were deployed and Pietro stared in amazement.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be," Steve corrected, and Pietro let out a small chuckle.

"This is not so bad."

The group got to loading the lifeboats while Rhodes and Tony dealt with the Legion bots attempting to stop them.

"Jess, can you make it to a lifeboat?" Tony asked.

"_Sorry, but I'm still working on the bots. I need a bit more time. I'm just outside of the church now. Thor and Vision are dealing with Ultron, so I'm going unnoticed, so one of them can get me out when things get to that point._"

"_I'll_ get you out if needed," Tony pressed, not happy to have her out in the middle of it and too far from an escape route, but knowing at this point, there was no changing her mind. "We're having a talk about this later."

"_Get in line. I think Bruce will want to be first. I pushed him off a cliff to get the Hulk out. He's got priority._ _Do you have a plan on blowing up the city?_"

"Create a heat seal. I can supercharge the spire from below. Thor, you listening?"

"We're out of time," Thor replied. "They're coming for the core."

Tony resisted a curse. "Rhodey, get the rest of the people on board that carrier. Avengers, time to work for a living."

* * *

The Avengers all began to convene on the church, taking out Legion bots as they went.

"Romanoff, you and Banner better not be playing 'hide the zucchini,'" Tony chimed in, landing in the church as well and not seeing them.

"_Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly_," Natasha scoffed over the comms, currently making her way over in a snowplow dump truck.

"Jess? Where you at?"

"Sorry!" Jess panted out, coming around a pillar and leaning heavily on it. "I-I've only got one hand and was _kind of_ in the middle of something."

"You look like shit," Tony remarked as she made her way into the center of the group, opening her laptop again and sitting on the floor. "How's the arm?"

"Our big robot friend broke it again," she explained, eyes whipping across computer code in front of her. "Open arm fracture. I covered it up as soon as I could and splinted it, but it's been bleeding for a bit. Riding the Hulk up here didn't help that and I don't want to heal it improperly so no cool lava tricks unless it gets chopped off."

"Jesus Christ, Jess," Natasha huffed, having finally made it. "So, what's the drill?"

"This _is_ the drill," Tony remarked, gesturing to the core in the center. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose. Jess how are you holding up. Nearly done?"

"I'm trying." She glanced up at him. "Should I find a different place? I feel a bit pathetic sitting here while you're all going to be fighting."

Even Thor shook his head at that. "You are also fighting and being near the core means protecting you as well."

Steve agreed. "He's right. If you leave to another building, there's no way to make sure you'll be safe. We need you to finish that code."

"All right," she replied, rolling her neck a bit. "I'll only need a few more minutes."

"Easy enough," Tony hummed as Ultron drifted down and Thor held out his arms.

"Is that the best you can do!" He bellowed and Ultron called _all _the remaining bots.

"You had to ask," Steve grumbled.

"Yeah, we're _really_ going to need that code now, Jess," Tony murmured.

"I'm trying," she pressed, brows furrowed in concentration. "Have to not get caught too, you know."

"This is the best I can do," Ultron said, holding out his arms in a display of his grand Legion. "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said… together," Tony replied and as the Hulk roared, the Legion attacked.

Tony, Thor, and Vision flew around, taking out as many as they could while the Hulk plowed through multiple at a time, tearing them apart. Ultron brought a hand to his head then as many of the bots fell over—lights going out.

"Yes, yes!" Jess grinned, typing away as quickly as her digits would allow.

"_You_," Ultron bit out, throwing himself into the fray and directly at Jess.

His hand easily crushed her computer and just as she'd looked up in shock, his other hand swung around only for it to fall short as Vision slammed into his side.

"Jess!" Tony called out, rushing to her as she breathed heavily and grimaced at the long, bleeding marks that now ran across her chest and abdomen.

"I-I'm fine," she bit out, pushing him away. "They're not that deep. Keep fighting."

"No. I'm getting you out of here right—" Tony was cut off as she suddenly stood, placing a fiery red hand onto a bot that had been aiming for his back.

Said bot wailed as its head melted and it fell to the floor, and Jess shot him a look.

"I said, I'm fine."

"I, uh, still don't believe that, but I suppose you won't give me a choice."

She cracked a small smile. "Not on your life." She looked out at the others. "Sorry I couldn't take them all out. He locked me out partway through."

"You took out almost half of them," Steve said, grunting as he swung his shield around to destroy another. "Better than I could have hoped for."

Ultron was then thrust out of the building by the Mind Stone and Thor and Tony teamed up to stop him even further. With all three of them, Ultron was brought to his knees and he grunted as he stood.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight—" His thought wasn't finished before the Hulk charged forward and knocked him out of the park.

He turned to the other bots standing about and they hastily retreated.

"They'll try to leave the city," Thor declared.

"We can't let them, not even one. Rhodey," Tony called out and between him and Vision, the spares were destroyed.

"We've got to move out," Steve commanded then. "Even I can tell the air's getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. I'll be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Clint asked.

"I'll protect it," Wanda declared. "It's my job."

Clint nodded, looking to Natasha as she wrapped an arm around Jess's waist. "Nat, this way."

He helped them into a car he'd gotten working and gave Jess a look from the rear-view mirror.

"How are you holding up?"

"N-Not the first time I've had a broken arm," Jess cracked out with a grimace. "T-Though I could do without the lightheadedness."

"You've lost too much blood," Natasha confirmed, before eyeing the wounds on her chest. "Did you cauterize those?"

Jess managed a smirk, though with how pale she was and the sweat sliding down her face, it was a poor shot at confidence. "B-Better than losing more blood."

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a glutton for pain," Clint commented, shooting her a look. "Getting hurt, hooking up with Tony—"

"Oh, not this again," Jess grumbled. "I know he can be a dick sometimes—"

"Sometimes?"

"He's not a bad guy, you know, and I'm not a child. I can hook up with whomever I want, okay? If he was honestly a piece of shit, I wouldn't be around. Then, what would you do, hm? Could you all deal with Tony without me?"

"She has a point," Natasha commented with a smile, not minding the easy-going banter in a rough situation like this.

It was honestly Jess and Tony's calling card. They both tended to joke and make sarcastic comments when things get heated. It was how they coped, and how they helped others cope.

"I know what I need to do," Clint suddenly announced. "The dining room."

Natasha and Jess both shot him a look.

"If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura, huh?"

"Or, you could save her the trouble of looking at a mess for an unknown about of time and just leave it," Jess quipped, getting ignored.

"Put up some baffling. She can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?"

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway," Natasha shrugged indifferently.

"No one eats in a dining room."

"Can't argue with that," Jess murmured. "Tony and I tend to eat in the lab or watching something in the living room. He got rid of the dining table ages ago. Replaced it with the bar counter in the kitchen."

They finally pulled up to where the lifeboat was, hearing the Hulk roaring nearby as well.

"We don't have a lot of time," Clint warned Natasha, who he knew was going to go and try to calm the Hulk down.

"So, get your asses on a boat."

Clint nodded, helping Jess out of the car and into the lifeboat, leading a medic towards her to get her arm looked at a bit better just as a woman cried out. Clint spotted her kid and started out to get him as Jess stiffened.

"Clint? Oi, Clint!"

"I'll be right back, Jess!"

"But we don't know where Ultron is!"

"I'll be quick!"

Jess groaned, making to get up but her vision shifted, and she crumpled back to the ground with a shake of her head. She'd lost too much blood and could only watch as Clint rushed out into the open to save the young boy. Gunshots rang out then and her eyes flew to the sky where the Quinjet was firing down on the Avengers.

"Clint!" She shouted, stumbling to try and get up as the bullets rained down and a blur rushed towards him.

The dust settled and Clint's heart sank as Pietro fell to the ground riddled with bullets.

"You didn't see that coming…" Pietro quipped before he lay on the ground, dead.

Jess hauled herself up, trying to get off the lifeboat, but a man held her back as Steve picked up Pietro and carried him onto it. Jess sagged back to the floor as Clint too sank onto some of the seats, waving off a medic. He wasn't hurt too bad, just in shock and trying to cope with what had just happened. _He was just a brat… just a kid…_

The last of the people were put on the lifeboat just when the city began to fall. Jess again, pushed herself up, hoping beyond hope that between Tony and Thor, they'd be able to stop the city. Then, it exploded in a flash of light, sending chunks of it down into the sea.

* * *

Tony stared out the window as he drove, expression serious.

"What are you thinking about?" Jess asked, sitting in the passenger seat with her eyes closed, a sling holding her arm close to her body.

"How reckless you are."

"Pot calling kettle," she murmured, peering an eye open to look at him. "Are you scared?"

"Why would I be scared?" He scoffed.

She shrugged, closing her eyes once more. "The world is changing, Tony. Superheroes, AIs, demi-gods, aliens and…"

"You?" He questioned, eyeing her and her expression pinched for a second as she turned towards the window with a sad look.

"…me… I understand if you don't… I mean, if what I know is…"

"Jess, I—"

"Look. All I'm saying is that if you want something to, to change between us—_with_… us… that's fine."

"I don't." He reached over, taking her hand and running his thumb over the back of it. "I don't want anything to change. Well, not in the way you're thinking, anyway. I could do with a bit less stubbornness and—"

"_Tony_," she grumbled, turning back to him as he smiled, lifting her hand and kissing it softly.

"We're all going to change," he said, parking the car by the new Avengers facility. "And I'm not afraid of you, your fire powers, or whatever weird connect you have with these stones. What I _am_ afraid of, is losing you because I'm not capable of keeping you safe."

"You can't keep everyone safe," Jess muttered.

"No, but I can try my best with you, but I need you to try too."

"I've _been_ trying."

"Well, we'll need to make a few altercations. Can't have you without any help like you were this time."

Jess sighed, leaning back in her seat, but not yet pulling her hand away from his. "If you all just listened to me sometimes…"

Tony chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze and getting out of the car with her. "I'll talk with Steve about it."

"Seriously, though," Jess pressed. "I keep telling you guys not to jump into things without thinking it over first."

"We could give you a full-time position!" Tony beamed, getting a kick out of the expression she made as he teased her. "Jess Norris, the Avengers Planner. No, that sounds stupid. Jess Norris, Avengers Coordinator."

"You are _not_ putting me on another desk job. Just give me a _real_ position! I have powers too, you know."

"Jess Norris, Plan Overseer. Eh? Eh? That one's a play on words too since you can literally see the future."

"I swear to God, I'm going to strangle you," she complained, but Tony was glad to see a small smile on her face.

She had been so down lately, it was nice that he could cheer her up even a little.

"Ae you upsetting Jess again?" Steve called out, raising a brow with a smile at the duo as Thor beamed beside him.

"It is good to see a smile on your face, Just Jess!"

"My God, it's _Jess_, Thor!" Jess complained as the others chuckled.

"Perhaps if you attempt to lift my hammer again, Just Jess, I will acknowledge that you are worthy of a name change."

Jess punched him in the shoulder with her good arm, earning a hearty chuckle from the demi-god as he pressed down on her head and messed up her short hair.

"Yeah, about that…" Tony stated.

"The rules have changed," Steve said definitively.

"We're dealing with something new."

"Yeah, I'm a bit lost here," Jess muttered, and Thor smiled.

"Vision raised my hammer."

"Seriously? How am I supposed to be suspicious of the guy when he does _that_?"

"Oh, the Vision is artificial intelligence," Steve tried.

"A machine."

"So, it doesn't count?"

"No. It's not like a person lifting the hammer."

"Right. Different rules for us."

"Nice guy. Artificial."

"Thank you."

Jess snorted. "Please. He's hardly a machine. He's got a mind of his own. I think that goes a little beyond your atypical AI."

"I agree with Just Jess," Thor nodded. "He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply."

The group was silent of only a moment.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator…" Steve muttered.

"It would still go up," Tony mused.

"Elevator's not worthy."

Thor smiled, patting Tony on the back. "I'm going to miss these little talks of ours."

"Not if you don't leave," Tony tried.

"I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. And once all these pieces are in position…"

"Triple Yahtzee?"

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked, more seriously.

"I do," Thor mused, patting Tony on the chest. "Besides this one and Just Jess, there's nothing that can't be explained. Though, should you discover what it is before I, feel free to prepare, Just Jess."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Only if you stop calling me that."

Thor cracked a smile. "I think not."

And with a crack of lightning, he was gone—leaving a patch of burnt grass that Tony frowned at.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance."

Jess slapped his arm playfully as they turned to head back for the road near where they parked.

"I'm gonna miss him though, and you're gonna miss us," Tony teased Steve. "There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

"I _will_ miss you, Tony," Steve admitted.

"Yeah?"

"Jess more so."

Jess snorted as Tony let out a short scoff, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Well, it's time for us to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build you a farm, Jess, hope nobody blows it up."

"You wouldn't dare."

"The simple life," Steve mused.

"You'll get there one day."

"I don't know. Family, stability… The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out."

Jess walked by him, giving his shoulder a fond pat and getting into the car. Tony opened his door as well but paused.

"You all right?" He asked, a little uncertain about the look in Steve's eyes.

"I'm home."

Tony cracked a smile and climbed in the car, kissing Jess's temple briefly before giving Steve a wave as they drove off.

"So, what do you think? Fiji? Bahamas? We're due for a vacation."

"You know what, Tony?" Jess gave him a soft smile. "I think I'm ready for a night in."

Tony raised a brow. "Like, movies, popcorn, cuddling on the couch?"

"Something like that."

He grinned, revving the engine and speeding up. "Sounds like a plan."


	24. Chapter 24

**This is the start of Captain America: Civil War and Jess will definitely be changing things. The only downside is this movie involves a lot of talking thanks to the politics of it all. I'll try to squeeze as much of the action in this as I can, but don't be surprised by the amount of just... talking. It probably won't be as long as the other movies I've typed up. And after this, I'll be doing Doctor Strange**.

* * *

I stared idly out the window at a small sparrow jumping from branch to branch on the outer edge of a bush—mind a million miles away from where I currently was. _I wonder how Tony's holding up. He had that presentation at MIT today and… I hated that I had to miss it. Pepper was supposed to go, but she canceled last minute and asked me to cover. Then, this happened._

"—ess. Jess."

"Hm?" I turned to the African American woman who was seated across from me.

She sighed, closing the notebook in her lap and setting it aside along with her glasses, leaning back in her armchair and eyeing me. "You want to explain to me what's bothering you this time? You haven't said a word for the last five minutes."

"Sorry," I murmured, giving the window one more glance, but the sparrow was gone. "Just… distracted. Thinking."

"About him?" She pressed, making me grimace and scratch at my forehead for a moment. "I noticed he didn't come with you today. Any particular reason? The kids miss him."

I snorted. "They would. I'm surprised you let him stick around in your waiting room with them. He's a trouble maker."

"You're avoiding the question."

I glanced away, knowing she was right. "He had a presentation today. Showing off some invention to MIT kids. He's giving them all scholarships. Funding their projects and stuff."

"And you're concerned because?"

"I was supposed to be there," I muttered. "I don't like leaving him alone at those things."

"Because you feel responsible for him?"

I frowned at her. "What? No. I just know how people can get with him. He can show as much charity and goodwill as he wants, but…" I looked down at the cup of coffee in my hands that I'd forgotten about. "There'll always be someone who hates him for stuff out of his control."

"We can't appease everyone, Jess."

"I know that."

"Then, you also know that you can't feel responsible for Tony or any of the others. Isn't that why you started coming back to therapy? You were getting overwhelmed. You kept taking on everyone else's problems instead of focusing on your own."

I huffed through my nose, lifting my coffee. "What else was I supposed to do? If I didn't jump in, then people would have died. Do you want me to take that back? Because I won't."

"No. It is incredible what you all have done for the world, but as you said, people will be upset and won't always see the good you're doing. You have to accept that. _All_ of you, Jess. And you can't take that burden from the others. They have to learn to deal with it too."

I grimaced at the cold coffee and her words. "So, what? I'm just supposed to walk away when they're being hurt by people?"

"Not necessarily. You can comfort them like you do with Tony, but you shouldn't be placing the blame on yourself."

"Even when I could have done more?"

"You're already _doing_ more," she pressed. "You started a whole entire company in order to clean up after them. As insurance to make sure that they are as protected from the public as they can get. However, this means _you_ get all the backlash instead. How many phone calls do you get in an hour from families who were left in the aftermath?"

I grit my teeth, remaining silent and looking away, not wanting to think about it.

"And how many emails do you get that hold death threats—not only towards the others but also yourself?" She waited a moment, though she knew I wouldn't answer. "What I'm trying to help you understand, Jess is that you cannot protect them from everything. You can't clean up all their messes. You can't make everyone in the world happy. You can try your damn hardest, but there will always be those problems you can't fix. Those people you can't help. And you need to accept that, take a step back, and re-evaluate your _own_ life. What can you do for yourself?"

"I… don't know," I muttered.

"All right, then how about this? When was the last time you visited your mother's grave?"

I stiffened, a knot immediately forming in my throat and she hummed.

"That's what I thought. Here's another question. Have you been avoiding it because of who's buried beside her?"

I clenched my hands into white-knuckled fists. "He didn't deserve to be."

"But he is. And I think that visiting her grave is something that would really help you move past some of the baggage you're carrying from your childhood."

"I won't forgive him."

"And I'm not saying you have to, but your nightmares have been frequent, have they not? Nightmares about him?"

I didn't want to admit it, but she didn't need me to say it to know. The bags under my eyes were proof enough.

"And it seems you and Tony both have the same problem. When things from your past begin to crop up, you immerse yourself in work, _especially_ if it's work that you feel is punishing."

"I'm not…I-I'm not trying to," I mumbled, feeling like a scolded child as I sank a bit into the armchair.

"None of us mean to, but when people have suffered like you have or like Tony, they tend to feel that being punished by others is the only way to ease their conscious. So, they begin to go looking for it. They poke people's buttons to make them angry because they believe they deserve to be yelled at. And right now, you are doing just that and _have_ been doing that since you were first introduced to me. Except this time, you have a supporter to help you through things and you're not using him."

"I shouldn't _have_ to use him."

"But things would go by faster if you did. You would be getting more of the help you needed if you just shared your concerns with him."

"I shouldn't pile my problems on top of his."

She sighed once more. "Jess, that's not what you're doing. You're sharing your concerns and in return, he will ease that burden and share his own concerns. You're not piling on top of his worries, you're exchanging pieces of them. Just enough that neither of you feels pressured by the other."

"I… guess."

"And in regards to your _other_ problem, I still believe you should have a discussion with everyone as to what your role is in this team. You can be someone who supports them, but you _can't_ be the _only_ thing that supports them, or else you'll be harming yourself to the point that not even I will be able to help you."

"But I can't _be_ one of them," I pressed. "My powers. They… They're not—"

"You are just as capable as the others on that team, Jess. Whether with or without your abilities, and they know that as well as I do. My suggestion to you, is to figure out where you stand. If you are comfortable taking a backseat and doing the planning or technological view of things like Maria, then do so. If you feel that to be too confining, then ask in regards to moving to the middle or even front lines."

"I can't be on the front lines. First off, Tony won't allow it."

"Like that would stop you," she joked, making me crack a small smile.

"And the others wouldn't appreciate it. As it was, with Slovakia…" I paused, remembering back to that fight I was in. "They treated me like glass. I only got away with doing what I did because I refused to listen to them telling me 'no.'"

"You _were_ rather injured at the time."

"Yeah, but they've done it before. Tony especially. And now that I have these… these visions, I feel… I feel like…"

"Like they'll begin to feel obligated to keep you safe," she concluded as I nodded.

"After my father…" I swallowed thickly. "After him, I became a lawyer, because I didn't want people looking at me like they did when they found out what sort of life I had. I wanted to be someone strong and capable of backing herself up because…"

"Because you believed nobody else would."

"He made sure of that," I murmured, wringing my hands together as they shook slightly. "And Tony's gotten better about things. He… He can tell when I can't handle being touched, o-or when I _want_ to. He treats me like I'm strong and I'm grateful for that, but… I feel like we're in this sort of loop. I get scared for him doing something reckless and he laughs it off. He gets scared when _I_ do something reckless and I get scolded. I know he doesn't mean to, and… it honestly doesn't bother me _that_ much."

"Mind you, it _does_ bother you if you're bringing it up," she noted, placing her glasses on once more and starting to make notes in her notebook.

I shot her a small frown but continued. "I just feel a bit suffocated, is all. I feel like I could do the same things he's doing. _Be_ that hero or whatever you want to call it, but when I try… I either self-implode—too afraid of my own powers to do anything—or make him worry to the point that he feels responsible for me, and I don't want that."

The timer went off then and I resisted a groan. Our session was up.

"What I recommend, is that you sit down with the others and discuss what you can do for the team. What your position is, what they want from you and you want from them. I _also_ suggest you go over some of the things we talked about with Tony, including visiting your mother's gravesite. Take him with you, if you feel intimidated by your father, but talk about it as well. He is your support just as much as you are his. Same with the team. Now," she stood up as I did the same, and she gave me a small pat on my shoulder. "I'll write up a prescription for medication to help you sleep and something for your panic attacks as well."

I grunted, not pleased about either, but knowing that my attacks had definitely gotten worse as of late, especially after a nightmare.

"I'll see you again in another two weeks unless something comes up for you. And I appreciate you coming to see me with what's going on right now. I know it is a bit hectic for you and your business."

I nodded, giving the television in the corner of the waiting room a glance. It was on a kid's program but scrolling along the bottom was a news alert about the King of Wakanda addressing the people killed during an Avengers raid. Her hand touched mine, pressing the prescription note into it and drawing my attention away from the television.

"Talk to him, please, and don't place anymore blame on your shoulders. You have enough to deal with already, without adding others' pain on top of it."

"…Thank you."

* * *

"Five years ago, I had a heart attack and dropped right in the middle of my backswing," the Secretary of State said, acting as though he was swinging a golf club as he stood at the head of a table full of Avengers. "Tuned out it was the best round of my life because, after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something forty years in the army had never taught me. Perspective." He eyed the group of augmented humans, an assassin, an AI and Tony—seated in a chair beside Jess as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought of us, protected us, risked your lives… but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are _some_ who would prefer the word 'vigilantes.'"

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary," Natasha quipped, seeing where this was going.

"How about 'dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"

Steve's eyes shifted to Jess, knowing that her business had been built for this exact purpose, but she avoided his gaze—keeping her eyes locked on the Secretary of State for now in stubborn silence as a screen was brought up.

"New York, Washington, D.C., Sokovia, Lagos," the Secretary listed off before Steve stopped him.

"Okay. That's enough."

The Secretary stopped the videos of destruction. "For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate… But I think we have a solution." He passed a paperbound stack to Wanda, who soon passed it to Rhodes. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by one hundred and seventeen countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

Steve immediately had a problem. "The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that."

"Tell me, Captain. Do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies," Rhodes confirmed.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords," the Secretary announced as Steve shot another pointed look at Jess and Tony. "Talk it over."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?"

"Then, you retire."

The man left and the group began to debate. Sam and Rhodes getting heated as Tony rubbed at his face, Jess got a strong drink, and Steve began the long reading of what was entailed in the accords.

"I have an equation," Vision spoke up, making them stop finally.

"Oh, this will clear it up."

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve questioned.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict… breeds catastrophe. Oversight… Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Rhodes smirked.

"Tony, Jess," Natasha spoke up then, eyeing the silent couple. "You're both being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."

"It's because they've already made up their mind," Steve declared.

"Boy, you know me so well," Tony scoffed. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort," he said shortly, making Jess down more of her drink as he got up to go get coffee. "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

"Jess?" Natasha pressed, the woman still having not said anything.

"Leave her out of it," Tony snapped, a bit heated, but Jess waved him off.

"It's fine."

"It's _not_ fine. You've been sticking your neck out for the Avengers since the beginning. You shouldn't have to be dragged into this."

"I've _already_ been dragged into this, Tony," Jess said shortly, before calming herself. "And I haven't picked a side."

Steve frowned. "You're neutral?"

"Undecided," she corrected. "I've been told the gist of the accords, but I still need to read them over more thoroughly. As for what I think about it in general…" She paused, getting up and finishing her drink before rinsing out her cup. "It's… morally difficult. It's an over-extensive Trolley problem."

"Trolley problem?"

"A train is racing down a track that splits into two. On the left track is five people. On the other is six people. You're at the switch to change the track. What do you do?"

The group was quiet as she eyed them.

"Natasha, you would kill the five to save the six. Basic math. But you, Steve would try to save them all. You'd pull the train off the tracks to save eleven, but what if you did that only to find out the train was full of children who needed immediate medical attention and you've just ruined their chance of survival?"

Steve looked down solemnly.

"That's all this is. You took down someone who could have killed many people. You saved those many people, in exchange for killing people you didn't know would be in danger. The people you saved are either thrilled or never knew they were in danger to begin with. The people you killed had family, were important to a political figurehead, had possibly saved people themselves and had already earned the respect of a country. It was an accident." She glanced at Wanda. "It wasn't your fault, and there was a moral choice that needed to be made. The people in that market or attempting to get the bomb out. It was a choice that saved more than it killed, but in the end, people were still killed."

Tony brought up an image on his phone of a young boy. "Charles Spencer. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world, maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale—which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia. He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass."

"Tony," Jess said soft but stern and he ground his teeth, but turned his gaze back to his coffee as she looked at the solemn others. "My therapist told me something yesterday… We can't help everyone. We can't save every person or make everyone happy. We can try, but there will always be unhappy people or people who dislike us for what happened to them personally when the bigger picture meant saving many more people. That train could have been hurtling at one person on the left and twenty people on the right, but the family of that one person will still be angry."

"There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check," Tony declared. "Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up," Steve argued.

"Who said we're giving up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame."

"I'm sorry, Steve," Rhodes cut in. "That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D., it's not HYDRA."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change."

"That's good. That's why I'm here," Tony explained as Jess sighed softly again and begrudgingly refilled her drink despite having made the short decision to stop. "When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you _chose_ to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't tell us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now, it's going to be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

"You're saying they'll come for me," Wanda murmured.

"We would protect you," Vision pressed.

"Maybe Tony's right," Natasha spoke up. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off—"

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam raised a brow.

"I'm just… reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

"Focus up. I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?" Tony questioned in disbelief.

"Oh, I want to take it back now."

"No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay. Case closed. I win."

"Enough," Jess silenced them, drawing attention back to her as she reached a hand out towards Steve, who handed her the accords. "Here's what we'll do. I'll read this over thoroughly. I'll find what I think we could fix, alter, propose, whatever. They said this is the middle ground, then they can't be allowed to be the only ones writing it."

"Jess," Tony started, but she shook her head.

"No, Tony. This needs to be done. We can't have infighting now. You saw what it did when Ultron was around. We need to look at this together and fix it. _Together._" She held up the accords. "I'll read through it and come up with suggestions. We can meet up again and I'll discuss it so everyone can agree on it here, then propose the changes to the UN panel and more importantly, the Wakandan King, who was the most affected."

"As great as that is, you can't be the only one working to fix this," Natasha pressed.

"I'm an ex-lawyer. It's not the first time I've read a thick booklet of political bullshit. It's something I can do, so I'm willing to do it. However, I want you lot doing something as well."

"Uh, sorry. I'm not great at focusing on political bullshit," Tony quipped, and Jess rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't going to ask you to. I want someone to look at what happened in the market. Security cameras, television cameras, everything. It's too coincidental that there were so many Wakandans around the moment you guys had to deal with someone trying to steal a chemical weapon."

"You think it could have been planned?" Steve questioned, leaning forward with the slightest bit of hope.

"I _think_ it's suspicious, and with the political mess that is Wakanda coming out of the shadows, I think we need to be certain that what happened to them _was_ caused by our mistakes before the UN can give us a time limit like three days to suddenly throw this at us." She waved the accords. "This is thick for a reason, meaning they've been considering it for a while, possibly adding signatures one at a time depending on what sort of mess we happened to make that day or that month. This disaster with the Wakandan people just so happened to give them a good enough reason to throw it at us."

"Meaning they didn't have a reason to until now," Tony realized.

"Exactly. This is most definitely a political move. Whether it's because the other countries all want a share of what the US now has or if they're simply scared of what the Avengers could do to their _own_ secrets, I don't know. But what I do know, is that this whole thing stinks and I already have a migraine that could have been avoided if those people in power just got off my back for more than two seconds. And, on the offhand that it was simply just our mistake… it's best to be certain and take precautions when it comes to the signing. I'll do my best to work out negotiations once I have your guys' agreement on the amendments, though suggestions to what you can do to help ease tensions would help, even if it's something as simple as more training simulations for new recruits."

Tony reached over and kissed her temple as he tugged her waist to his side. "You're amazing, you know that? I'll book you a spot at this great massage place. You know, to get those people off your back."

"Cute," Jess mocked sarcastically.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Steve asked, everyone eyeing her, and she watched them seriously, noting how odd it was for the group to be looking to her as if she were leading them.

"Yeah, actually. If I'm going to keep sticking around here saving your asses, I want a name."

Steve blinked. "A… A name?"

Jess smirked, starting to walk out. "You heard me. I'm not just some desk worker. I'm an Avenger. So, start thinking."


	25. Chapter 25

**Apologies ahead of time my 'r' key has been on the fritz lately so you might see some 'of' where there should be 'for.'**

* * *

I smiled politely at the woman who requested my signature on the log of attendance, but the moment I turned away, the smile fell. I searched through my blazer pocket and dropped a couple of anti-anxiety tablets and something for my headache into my hand before plopping them in my mouth and snatching the nearest glass of water without anyone noticing. _I'm just glad the UN panel agreed to the amendments I offered. I think all of the Avengers are here except Thor, Banner, and Steve. _I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ease some of the tension there. _I really wish he would have come. I made most of these changes for him, but I know it's the principle of the thing that's making him refuse. Natasha confirmed it when she went to check on him after…_

"God, I could do with some alcohol," I murmured under my breath, before spotting Natasha. "Good. Someone I can talk to without plastering on a smile."

I headed over and nearly resisted a groan when my plan was foiled by the Prince of Wakanda—T'Challa.

"Considering your last trip to Capitol Hill, I wouldn't think you'd be particularly comfortable in this company," he questioned her, his eyes lifting to meet mine as I hesitated on heading over and interrupting.

Natasha turned though, giving me a reassuring smile and nodding for me to head over. "I'm not the only one."

"Miss Norris," T'Challa greeted, forcing a smile as I did the same, offering a hand to shake.

"Price T'Challa."

Natasha jabbed me in the side with her elbow, making me cringe, losing my smile as I scowled at her and she cracked a grin. "Being so uptight doesn't suit you."

I rolled my eyes, turning back to the prince. "My apologies."

He smiled though, relaxing a bit. "No need. We were just discussing how glad I am for someone like Miss Romanoff to be here where the company is a bit…"

"Stifling?" I offered, relaxing a little myself. "Yeah, well, it's not my first choice either."

"See?" Natasha smirked, seeming to have cracked both our polite shells.

"If anything, I should be offering my own apologies," T'Challa replied with a small chuckle. "I am so used to seeing you at the meetings. Formality is not my strong suit, whereas you appeared far more comfortable."

"I'm an ex-lawyer by trade and have a good mask, nothing more. I'm as displeased by this mess as the rest of you."

"I thought you, of all people, would approve, considering the amount of work you put in to adjust the accords."

I wrinkled my nose. "I'm the type of person who tries to avoid conflict. That's all this is. I saw the difficulties arising and stepped in to try and calm the flame before it could spark and start a forest fire."

"Why?" Natasha asked him. "You don't approve of all this?"

He glanced away briefly. "The accords, yes. The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."

I hummed in agreement before his father stepped forward.

"Unless you need to move a piano."

T'Challa smiled, bowing his head. "Baba."

"Unyana," T'Chaka greeted as I bowed my head as well, avoiding eye contact as I knew was custom with someone of a far higher rank.

"Miss Norris, Miss Romanoff."

"King T'Chaka," we both greeted, though Natasha continued.

"Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria."

"Thank you, though I do believe Miss Norris has apologized enough on behalf of all of you," he commented, making me flush a bit and rub the back of my neck. "For, while it is not entirely custom in my country, prostrating oneself on the floor to beg forgiveness is something that deserves to be acknowledged."

Natasha looked at me in surprise, but I just bowed my head.

"I felt that no apology would be enough after what happened because of the negligent training of an Avengers member. It was the only way I could think of to properly express our regret."

He nodded with a soft smile. "Thank you for agreeing to all of this, and for all the work you put in, in order to get as many to accept the terms offered. I am sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today, however."

"Yes, so am I," Natasha offered in return and the King looked to me.

"He was the one you hoped to convince the most, was he not?"

I nodded. "Yes, though he is against the very idea of having politics holding the reigns. And while I can see his side of things, I also understand the other side as well. Too much is being overlooked, even with my best efforts."

He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, surprising me and his own son at the fond action. "You have done your best, even before the accords, and for that I am grateful."

I bowed my head once more in thanks as an announcement was made for everyone to be seated.

"That is the future calling," T'Challa mused, bowing to us. "Such a pleasure."

We stepped away and took our seats as the King addressed everyone.

"When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join."

_Though, since when was it their job to improve a world they've chosen not to be a part of until now?_ I wondered, quickly stuffing the thought to the back of my mind. _Behave. Now is not the time to question something like the words of a country's king._

"I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."

I spotted T'Challa moving towards a window, making me frown. _He hasn't moved until now. Something's changed. Something outside distracted him._ I nudged Natasha at my side, nodding to the prince to draw her attention and she too frowned. Something was going on.

"Everybody get down!" T'Challa shouted, rushing for his father as Natasha covered the woman to her right and I shoved down another to my left just as an explosion went off.

My ears were ringing, but I shook it off as best I could, calling for Natasha. She came up from under the desk and I gestured to my ear, asking if she could hear. She shook her head and I grimaced, miming a phone for her to call for emergency services as I hopped the desk and went to check on those closest to the windows where the explosion had come from. My hearing came back slowly, and I felt my heart stop in my chest at the sight of T'Challa holding his father and rocking back and forth.

"Oh, no…" I breathed, hesitating on heading over, before begrudgingly doing so. "Prince…"

He looked up, tears in his eyes, but also a fire. "Find who did this."

I grit my teeth but nodded. "I'll get people on it. The best I can find, but I need to check on the others too."

He bowed his head in acceptance as I waved Natasha down again.

"Get to calling people. Anti-terrorist groups, governments, the lot. We need people investigating this asap. The Wakandan King has been killed."

"On it," she said solemnly as I went around checking on those hurt or not moving.

I swallowed back bile at the scent of burnt flesh, forcing myself to don that mask I'd gotten so used to wearing when times grew tough. I clenched my eyes shut for a moment, inhaling as I counted to five and exhaling before resuming my task. With every dead body I found, my chest only seemed to grow tighter, and my mind began to race. _This was planned. Someone's trying to start a war with the Avengers and or Wakanda. It's the only thing that makes sense. This was a peace meeting for the accords, but also the first time the King has been out in the open._ _I need to know if this has delayed the accord's effects or not. If not, then we have to send in a request to investigate and take action as soon as we can._

"Jess."

I blinked, not knowing when I'd been led out of the building by paramedics and settled on a bench beside the also shocked T'Challa. Natasha hovered over me in concern, but I soon shook my head and waved her off, letting her know I was fine.

"Sorry. Caught in my head for a second."

She nodded, giving T'Challa a sympathetic glance. "I'm very sorry."

"In my culture, death is not the end," he explained slowly. "It's more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where… you can run forever."

"That sounds very peaceful."

"My father thought so… I am not my father," he ground out, putting his father's ring on.

"T'Challa, the Task Force will decide who brings in Barnes," she said, giving a name to the suspect that had apparently been the one who bombed the meeting.

T'Challa stood though. "Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself."

I sighed heavily, as he walked off, running my fingers through my hair. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate people seeking revenge?"

"No, though I can see why."

Her mobile went off and she answered, mouthing 'Steve' to me to let me know who was calling.

"I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do," she said, informing me that we were _definitely_ going to have a problem. "Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us, please."

"He's not going to," I mumbled, tipping my head back against the bench as my own phone began to ring.

I knew who it was and didn't want to answer it. I couldn't handle dealing with Tony's high-speed frustration right now. _I need to figure out what's going on. Read up on this Barnes guy. Double-check the footage and everything to make sure it was him who did this. I need to get into contact with Steve as well, but I can't be trying to discourage him, or he'll shut me out._

"Why do men have to be so frustrating?" I asked Natasha who managed a grimace of a smile.

"You have a plan?"

"The shell of one. I need info. _All_ the info."

"I'll see what I can get on Barnes."

"I'll need more than that. If he's got a relation with Steve who—I have no doubt—is friendly with him, then I need to prove he was the one who did this."

"Camera footage, multiple angles, background information on him and Steve. Anything else?"

I shot her a suspicious look. "Why are you so eager to help me with this?"

"I don't want Steve getting hurt by this any more than he has to. And for whatever reason, you're decent at making sure we Avengers don't _get_ hurt." She squeezed my shoulder. "Believe it or not, Jess, but you're damn good at your job and I respect that. Or, well, I respect anyone who's dated Tony for this long without bailing or chucking him off a bridge."

I snorted, showing her my phone and the caller ID. "Oh, I don't know about that. I might chuck him off a bridge now."

"I'll get you your info," she agreed, and I hummed.

"Oh, and get me everything you can about T'Challa and the king, as well as what's known about Wakanda. I get the feeling that it's vital we know what to expect from him since he's going all vigilante on us. And could you pass on Steve's number?"

She gave me a look. "You think you could stop him?"

"Who said I'm trying to stop him?" I challenged, earning a suspicious look and I sighed. "I figure, if I can find proof that this isn't what it looks like—or at least show him that I'm willing to try looking into it, he might be a little more forthcoming about what he's up to. If I'm going to prevent this from becoming a mass war between the Avengers, Wakanda, and whatever organization or person started this, then I'm going to need to know _all_ sides. His, T'Challa's, the anti-accord section of the Avengers team and the pro. I've got no doubt that they're going to send those who signed after those who didn't or who are willing to risk saving Barnes with Steve."

She smirked. "And you wondered why we wanted you put in charge of keeping track of those missing Avengers."

"I only changed the accords so both parties had to agree on someone neutral to keep track of the individuals instead of using tracking bracelets," I grumbled.

"And we picked you."

"They haven't had time to agree—"

"Jess," she pressed, patting my shoulder and starting to head off. "You've managed to get everyone in our team to accept the accords but Steve, and he's only not signing it based off principle. I don't think anyone's capable of that. So, don't be so down on yourself. You're an Avenger just as much as the rest of us… _Phoenix_."

I groaned, calling after her. "I still think it's a stupid name!"

* * *

Steve stepped into the apartment, giving it a once over before reaching up for his comm. "He's definitely been here, Jess. Good work."

"_Don't praise me. I told you. So long as you keep me in the loop, I'll be able to help. I know what Tony's side is up to, and now yours, but Prince—__**King **__T'Challa is in the dark. I've done my research, but there's only so much you can get from rumors about a place that's been in the shadows until now._"

"Still, thank you," Steve muttered, picking up a book from on top of the fridge and going through it as Sam chimed in.

"_Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces approaching from the south._"

"Understood. Jess?"

"_They're under government orders to search all the safehouses in the areas they know about, but this is quick for them. I'm guessing he got spotted somewhere. They narrowed the location based on where._"

He grunted in acknowledgment, before sensing someone behind him and turning around to face Bucky.

"Do you know me?"

"You're Steve. I read about you in a museum."

"_They've set the perimeter,_" Sam warned, keeping him up to date on what the government agents were doing.

Steve placed the book down, approaching him slowly. "I know you're nervous, and you have plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore."

"_They're entering the building._"

"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart. Good strategy."

"_They're on the roof. I'm compromised._"

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck."

"_Kind of does, if you're going to get out of there,_" Jess commented. "_I'm trying to pass along information to ensure they don't try to kill __**you**__ by the end of this, but it will take a minute to relay it._"

Steve let out a soft sigh of relief, glad he'd chosen to believe in Jess when she'd offered to be the mediating party between everyone. He knew it was going to take a toll on her though and vowed that when he got out of this—preferably _with_ Bucky—that he'd definitely owe her one.

"_Five seconds._"

"You pulled me from the river," Steve reminded Bucky hastily since they were running out of time. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"_Three seconds._"

"Yes, you do."

"_Breach! Breach! Breach!_" Sam shouted and he used his shield to knock a gas canister out back out the window while Bucky kicked the second towards him so he could cover it with his shield.

A flashbang flew in and Bucky used a mattress to stop it, before kicking a folding table in the gap where the door was to prevent them from bursting in there. Both him and Steve worked together to take out the men who crashed in through the window, and Steve stopped him when he made for the back sliding door.

"Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone."

Bucky threw him to the ground and punched right beside his head, throwing a backpack out the window. "I'm not gonna kill anyone."

"_So, I'm leaning towards him either not being in Vienna or forgetting he was there,_" Jess chimed in, making Steve crack a smile for a second.

"Told you."

"_Don't get your hopes up. I told you, I'm looking for the truth, and if that means he did it—knowing full well that he did it—then I can't help you save him._"

Steve understood where she was coming from, but he was determined to prove that Bucky was innocent. This went beyond their friendship. He knew what kind of person Bucky was, and knew he wouldn't do anything like killing someone without a reason. What he was doing now, only proved that. Jess helping was an added bonus he hadn't expected, but one he appreciated more than she knew. He admitted he would undoubtedly give Bucky up if he _had_ done something wrong with the intention of killing, but not condemn him to death. For now, though, he was giving Bucky the benefit of the doubt.

Another soldier flew in, firing off shots that Bucky used his metal arm to stop before Steve covered him with his shield. When a soldier came through the window, however, Bucky threw him back into the man and took care of the others in his apartment. Hearing that they were again breaking through the door, Bucky moved first, landing on the stairwell and moving in to fight the men there. One began to relay orders to others, but Steve entered and stopped the comm before making to continue helping, even saving one soldier who'd been about to fall to his death.

"Come on, man."

Steve soon had to wrestle his shield out of a wall while Bucky threw himself down the stairs, catching himself before he could fall too far. Bucky ran out, jumping to the next roof over and attempting to make a run for it before someone tackled him from the sky.

"Jess? We've got a problem," Steve said when he caught sight.

"_What now?_"

"New person. All black with… claws?"

"_Cat woman?_"

Steve nearly snorted, calling Sam towards the rooftop as he jumped over himself—a helicopter closing in. "Not quite."

The helicopter began firing off shots, and Sam moved to take care of it before Jess chimed in through the comms.

"_Okay! The order has gone through! Non-lethal force will be used for you three and the cat person, but guns will still be used to threaten. Any lethal force taken by you lot will be treated as an attack though, and lethal force permitted._"

"Thanks, Jess!" Steve replied as the three made their way off the building and down onto a road in a tunnel.

Police officers drove their cars over, attempting to catch up and Steve stole one to do much the same.

"_Steve, give me more details on your cat woman._"

"First off, it's a man."

"_Uh-huh. Sure._"

"Jess."

"_Yeah, just messing with you. Come on. Details._"

"About six foot, slim but muscular, all black clothing impenetrable to bullets and some sort of metal claws from the fingers. Sam, I can't shake this guy," Steve said, swerving his car to try and get said person off.

"_Right behind you._"

More officers joined the chase and Steve attempted to use the car to get the newcomer off, before following Bucky to the other side of the road. Bucky had since stolen a motorbike and the newcomer used Steve's car to jump at him. The bike was nearly on its side with the two fighting each other until Bucky kicked the man off, only for him to get picked up by Sam—not intentionally. Bucky used a grenade, but Sam threw the newcomer through the debris and he managed to get Bucky off the bike just as Steve sped through to meet them, tackling the man off Bucky.

"_Steve, you guys need to stand down,_" Jess informed as the police surrounded them and the War Machine landed there as well, ordering the same. "_Remember, they won't fire on any of you unless you attack them. Bucky's in the clear for the moment. Also, I think I've figured out who your friend is._"

"It's the Wakandan Prince," Steve announced as said man took off his helmet to reveal himself.

"_Yeah, I really wish you all would stop causing wars with each other._"

* * *

"'A pinch of paprika,'" Vision read off the recipe he'd printed out, making me lift my gaze over the rim of my glasses as I typed on my laptop on the counter across from him. "A pinch…"

"It's not a mathematical measurement," I explained to him.

"Why not?"

"A pinch is different for every person. They say a pinch because you don't need a lot, just enough to alter the taste. It's… subtle, if you just take a pinch."

"I see," he murmured, taking a pinch of a red spice off a plate though I struggled to remember if that was paprika or something else.

"Is that paprikash?" Wanda asked, wandering in and giving me a small smile as she snuck over to join Vision.

"I thought it might lift your spirits," Vision replied, offering her the pot and she took the spoon for a taste.

She smiled. "Spirits lifted."

"In my defense, I-I haven't actually ever eaten anything before, so…"

Wanda looked to me and I held up a hand as my eyes strayed back to my computer.

"Other than having to leave for a flight in a bit, I'm not exactly very taste oriented. If it's edible, I usually eat it. I've learned to not be picky." I gave her a wrinkle of my nose. "The joys of being dragged into numerous business meetings at an assortment of restaurants and being an ex-military brat. Anything tastes better than what they serve."

She nodded, searching through the spices to alter what Vision had started as he moved around the counter, watching her.

"Wanda?"

"Hm?"

"No one dislikes you, Wanda."

We both looked at him, confused as to where this was going.

"Thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome. No, it's an involuntary response in their amygdala. They can't help _but_ be afraid of you."

"You need to work on your tact there, Vision," I muttered, listening in as I continued working.

"Are you?"

"My amygdala is synthetic, so…"

She chuckled, thankfully not offended by Vision's blunt and methodic speaking, making me smile as well. _They get along pretty good. A decent match. Natasha will definitely tease them about it._

"I used to think of myself one way," Wanda said, stirring the pot. "But, after this…" She twirled some red energy between her fingers. "I am something else. I'm still me, I think, but… that's not what everyone else sees."

I felt my smile drop, knowing _exactly_ what she was feeling in regards to myself.

"Do you know, I don't know what this is?" Vision said, tapping the gem on his forehead. "Not really. I know it's not of this world, powered Loki's staff, gave you your abilities, but… its true nature is a mystery. And yet, it is part of me."

"Are you afraid of it?"

"I wish to understand it. The more I do, the less it controls me. One day… who knows? I may even control it."

"I get it too, you know," I added, closing my laptop, removing my glasses and leaning on my elbow on the table as I lifted my other hand—willing that heat to make it burn red. "I wasn't given a choice, sure, but I've never been judgmental to the enhanced. Never disliked the idea of superpowers or superhumans. Just, never expected to become one."

"Are you afraid?"

"Oh, every day," I mused, watching the heat flow through my arm. "I worry I'll hurt those closest to me. That one day, I'll just turn on and not know how to turn it off. As it is, I take suppressants. I've been too stressed the last few years to trust myself with controlling it properly. Slightest bit of anger or frustration and I fall through the floor because I melted it. Or maybe I hurt Tony without meaning to."

"I am… surprised you tolerate him."

I chuckled, cooling my hand once more. "Most people are. I've got the patience of a saint, thanks to my old job, but Tony is… complicated. I know you're not his biggest fan, but for me, I understand him. We're similar, in a way.

She raised a brow. "Similar? You are… calm, patient, thoughtful and open-minded. Stark is…"

"Calm in how he deals with my hectic emotions. Patient when dealing with my frustration and while working on his machines. Thoughtful when he can see I'm struggling with something and going out of his way to help make it better. Open-minded when considering what I have to offer him in regards to ideas on his suits, his business, the Avengers. And we both have similar faults," I explained. "We both dive into our work when something troubles us. We both push people away when we feel they might be in danger. To me, Tony is kind to a fault. People just tend to not look below the surface, whereas I grew to _always_ look beyond that."

She listened silently along with Vision as my expression shifted slightly.

"My father was… He was the kind of person people looked at and thought how great of a man he was. Widowed husband taking care of his kid all on his own. They never looked past that. Not when I came in to the hospital with a broken arm. Not when I was absent for school pictures and forged his signature on documents to get me out of physical education. No one blinked an eye when I wore a sweater in the middle of summer and how I cowered when he took me home after a bad parent-teacher meeting or after getting caught trying to steal a packaged meal from the convenience store. He taught me early on, that not all people are as they appear. That even the nicest guy could be an abusive, terrible person behind their smile.

"I became a lawyer to make sure other kids never had to deal with that. And it's because of that, that I look past what people display on the outside. It's why Tony and I are together, because I see him for who he really is, and he respects that and helps me see past what my father made me think of myself. He supports me with these new abilities. He doesn't understand them any more than I do, but he tries, and I try in return. I try my best to learn how to control them—even though I'm terrified of them—because I never want to be the one who hurts him by losing control. And he understands my fear but is helping me with that too. He may not always want me on the front lines, but he's willing to accept that I am different now because of this."

"And… do you accept yourself?"

I considered it. "I'm… getting there. I understand that it's a part of me now. It's who I am. I know that controlling it will help me in accepting it, and that I definitely need to put more practice in. But… I think a little fear is good. Fear pushes us to do better, don't you think?"

She looked down, before giving Vision a wrinkle of her nose. "I don't know what's in this, but it is not paprika."

I snorted at Vision's mistake before she moved to leave.

"I'm gonna go to the store. I'll be back in twenty minutes."

Vision though blocked her path. "Alternatively, we could order a pizza?"

"Vision, are you not letting me leave?"

"It is a question of safety."

"I can protect myself," she said, making to move, but he still stopped her.

"Not yours. Mr. Stark would like to avoid the possibility of another public incident until the accords are on a more secure foundation."

"And what do you want?" She challenged.

"For people to see you as I do."

"Wanda, please," I pressed, making her turn with a hint of betrayal. "Tony is lying, first off. It _is_ to protect you."

"But he said—" Vision started but I shot him a look.

"Trust me. What he said was a clever lie to make her angry at him instead of you or the others who would try and stop her." I looked back to her, though she was still suspicious. "He's doing what I said. Pushing people away to protect them. Besides, _I'm_ the one who suggested keeping you here for now."

"_You_ did this?" She questioned, glaring and I held up my hands.

"I believed that keeping you away from the public would prevent _them_ from harming you."

"I can protect myself," she snapped.

"Physically, yes. Emotionally?" I questioned, eyeing her as she hesitated. "Because I was there when they brought up Lagos at the first accords meeting. Now, imagine walking out and having photographers in your face, questioning you, showing microphones under your nose and quoting you out of context to ruin your public image further. And sure, maybe you don't care about public image. I don't honestly know your views on it, but the news won't be the only ones you get abuse from. Civilians might show up too. You might get kicked out of places, stoned, spat on, attacked. And I don't want that to happen to you, because I am proof of what that sort of abuse does to a person. And trust me, you haven't seen half of how it has hurt me."

I stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to relax once more, allowing my shoulders to slump from their tense posture as I stood.

"Now, I have a plane to catch to help those idiots in Berlin. Please don't make a mistake by stepping outside to experience that sort of hell. Vision will get anything you need. If you want to get out of the house, there's a VR headset in the living space you can use. If you need a private moment to yourself, feel free to lock your door and shoo Vision away. I've explicitly told him to give you privacy if you need it—though he will monitor your position to ensure you don't do something stupid like sneak out your window, though he won't physically restrain you." I looked at her apologetically. "I don't want to do this, believe me, but I don't know how else to help you. I can't protect everyone, much less from something like this."


	26. Chapter 26

The vehicle holding Steve, Sam, Bucky, and T'Challa pulled into the facility and three of them stepped out while Bucky was escorted in a restraint pod.

"What's gonna happen to him?"

"Same thing that ought to happen to you," a man replied. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

Sharon Carter introduced him. "This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander."

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked.

"Lawyer, that's funny," Everett smirked. "See their weapons are placed in lockup. We'll write you a receipt."

Sam eyed his wingsuit as they took it away. "I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that."

"No worries. I've made sure it's being placed in a secure area," a familiar voice said, and Steve let out a soft sigh of relief as Jess stepped over. "Everett."

The commander sighed. "Jess."

"I take it you two know each other?" Steve questioned, eyeing the two.

Jess cracked a small smile. "We dated."

Steve opened his mouth to comment, only to close it. _Nope. Not stepping on that land mine._

"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell," Everett informed the group as they walked. "You owe Jess for that."

"We owe Jess for a bit more than that, I think," Steve commented, making Jess smirk.

"Oh, trust me. I'm tallying up what you owe."

"Do me a favor though," Everett said seriously. "Stay in it."

"I don't intend on going anywhere," T'Challa declared and Jess shot him a look.

"Yeah, you better, because you and I need to have a talk."

Natasha joined the group as well, giving Steve a look. "For the record, this is what making things worse looks like."

"He's alive."

"Which I've already told you, will be made certain of if you all would cooperate," Jess replied from in front of them as they started to enter the office. "And before you make some stupid comment about ensuring his death, King T'Challa, do remember: you are a _king_." Her eyes latched onto his, all friendliness gone from her face. "While it is your duty to ensure that there is persecution, it is _not_ your duty to do so on foreign soil to someone who is _not_ from your country under the pretense that just because you are a king, means you may do as you wish. The rules are different here. And while wanting retribution for your father's death is understandable, needless killing based on revenge is not."

"I am doing this for my country, who has lost their king," he snapped, and she rounded on him, forcing him to pull to a stop as she faced him down.

"You are doing this for _yourself_. Because a true king would rather he be made an example of in front of the country he wronged. They would want him punished through long-standing suffering, not something swift like death. Revenge is not what the Black Panther was made for."

"And what would you know about the Black Panther?" He snarled and she didn't even flinch.

"More than you know." She turned away and continued walking with the others silently following after her display. "I haven't just been sitting around since the accords. I've been reading up on everything. Barnes, Wakanda, rumors and myths, terrorist organizations, the lot. You'd be surprised what sorts of information you can get if you research long enough."

Steve leaned towards Natasha. "When was the last time she slept?"

"Plane ride here, I think, but I could be wrong," she murmured back, shooting him a look. "Thanks to this mess, she's been pulling all-nighters to try and help you guys. I mean it when I say you owe her."

Steve sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as they stepped in to hear Tony on the phone.

"No. Romania was not accords-sanctioned. Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup."

"Try not to break anything while we fix this," Natasha said, stepping away to help.

"Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences," Tony said seriously, eyeing them as they walked in. "Obviously, you can quote me on that because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir."

"Consequences?" Steve questioned him when he hung up.

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something," Tony said, giving Jess a kiss on the temple and squeezing her hand with a questioning look—rubbing a thumb under her left eye.

"I'm fine," she informed him as Steve gave them a look.

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?"

"Technically, it's the government's property," Natasha informed. "Wings too."

"That's cold," Sam grumbled.

"Warmer than jail," Tony hummed, kissing Jess and heading out. "And try not to run Jess any further into the ground. We've got a dinner date."

"Does _he_ know you dated Commander Ross?" Steve questioned Jess as she pointed at Tony, who had locked eyes with said commander and giving him an "I'm watching you" gesture.

"Oh, yeah."

"That must be fun."

"More than you know."

* * *

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" Tony asked Steve, who had been watching the security footage of Bucky. "I pulled something from dad's archives. Felt timely. FDR signed the Lend-Lease Bill with these in 1941," he explained, sliding the box over the table and opening it to reveal two fountain pens. "Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most."

"Some would say it brought our country closer to war," Steve argued, seeing where he was going with this as they both took a seat.

"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to… What do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?"

"Did Jess sneak away? I haven't seen her," he mused, trying to divert the conversation.

"We're kinda… Well, not kinda…"

"Pregnant?"

"No, definitely not," he chuckled. "Not the right time, for either of us. It's nobody's fault. Well, that's a lie," he sighed, looking at one of the security videos and pointing it out to him. "There she is. Working things out with King T'Challa, hopefully."

"She's really helped us," Steve mused.

"She's doing her best, against her therapist's orders."

"She mentioned her therapist. I didn't know she had one."

"Always had one. Just hasn't visited since she was younger, after her father."

Steve went quiet for a moment. "What made her go now?"

"Stress. Hasn't been sleeping, between nightmares and those visions," Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I try to do what I can but doesn't always work."

"I'm sure she appreciates it."

"Oh, she does, but… A few years ago, I almost lost her. I offered to trash all my suits, but do you know what she said?" He cracked a smile. "They're a part of me. She was willing to accept Iron Man as a part of me. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA and then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, we never stopped. Because the truth is, we don't want to stop. I don't want to lose her. I thought maybe the accords could split the difference. She's getting more involved with the Avengers, and I don't want anything to happen to her, just as she hopes nothing will happen to me. The therapist is because she's struggling to handle everything at once. The accords? Those will give her a break. She desperately needs one."

He got up with a sigh.

"In her defense, I'm a handful, but all of us? That's too much for one person to handle, and she's been trying to _be_ that one person. She's not like my mother. Mom always let Howard handle everything while she settled for being the assistant, the mother, the side-kick. Jess has more fire to her, pun intended." Tony smiled.

"I don't mean to make things difficult."

"I know because you're a very polite person," Tony snorted, pulling on his suit jacket.

"If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No, you don't. You know how I know that? Because you and Jess are similar in that aspect. It's why she's pushing herself so hard right now. She's watching us throw ourselves south and is fighting to hold the rope that will keep us up top… Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth, but I don't want to see you gone. We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last twenty-four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center instead of a Wakandan prison, and Jess can finally stop worrying about every move we're going to make."

Steve got up, picking up the pen. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safeguards."

"Sure. Jess already got them to agree to most of her changes. She has a list if you want a more detailed analysis of what she's altered, and I think it's pretty good. The perks of having an ex-lawyer for a girlfriend. Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended further. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated."

"Wanda?" Steve questioned. "What about Wanda?"

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound currently. Vision's keeping her company."

"Oh, God. Tony. Every time. Every time I think you see things the right way—"

"It's a hundred acres with a lap pool," Tonya argued. "It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."

"Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony."

"And it was my decision," Jess said, stepping into the room and making him look to her in shock.

"_You_ decided this?"

"And I made sure not to have my flight here sooner in order to be there to explain it to her," Jess sighed, moving to take a seat as Tony hastily got up to get her coffee. "I _asked_ for her not to leave. Vision will monitor her to dissuade her not to go but will not force her to stay. I warned her that if she did leave, she risked not only physical harm from angry civilians but also mental. Unless you think she should have no warning of what she may experience when she steps outside to newscasters' questions, civilian insults, and other verbal attacks."

"Give her a break!" Tony snapped at Steve. "She's doing what has to be done to stave off something worse. How many sleepless nights does she have to take before you see all the work she's putting in to keep all of you from getting into trouble?"

"Tony, that's enough."

"No, it's _not_ enough," he argued. "You're practically dead on your feet and not _once_ have any of them even thanked you! You're putting yourself on the line for them, and for what! For them to argue every move you make, even when it's the best anyone can do? You shouldn't have to put up with that! You're _trying_ and they're not even… they're not even the slightest bit grateful."

"You don't have to sign it, Steve," Jess said, stunning both of them as she calmly watched him. "It's everyone's choice to sign it or not. I've probably made as many changes as they would allow and made it the best it can be for all parties involved. If it's not good enough for you now, no one will make you sign it. I just want to warn you, if you don't, I won't have any control over what happens afterward. I've done my best to make this work out and would… appreciate you signing it to make things easier, but much like it's Wanda's choice to stay or leave the compound, it's your decision whether or not you want to sign."

He was quiet, watching her and thinking about what her and Tony had said and done. Even now, Jess was waving Tony away as he grumbled about her being too nice, and he could see how exhausted she was. _All for us…_

"I'll sign them."

Tony looked up, stunned, but Jess nodded. "Thank you."

He shook his head. "No. We should have thanked you ages ago. I'm sorry, Jess."

She cracked a tired smile. "It's fine. We've all been a bit stressed."

There was a knock on the door and they turned to Everett.

"We're going to start the interrogation and psych evaluation."

The group nodded, getting up and moving to where the security videos were once they'd brought the accords for Steve to sign.

"I'll get Sam and the others as well."

Jess nodded, before coming up beside Everett as the evaluation began.

"_I've been sent by the United Nations to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?_"

"Who is he?" Jess questioned.

"Theo Broussard. He was unanimously agreed on by the United Nations for the evaluation."

"But not the Avengers, which _is_ a part of the accord," Jess argued, pulling out an iPad and looking the man up. "If anything goes wrong, it's on the UN."

"Nothing's going to go wrong, it's just an eval."

"And I've already told you, this whole thing stinks. Something bigger is going on, and everyone needs to be thoroughly checked by _both_ sides of the accords, especially when there's a half-brainwashed enhanced involved." She paused then, eyes scanning the iPad quickly before speaking. "Get someone in there now."

"Excuse me?"

Her gaze snapped up as she showed him the picture on the iPad. "That's _not_ Theo Broussard. He's at least ten years too young. We have an unknown in there with Bucky, and that's the _worst_ possible thing. Steve! Get down there! Whoever's with Barnes is not a friendly! I repeat, not a friendly!"

"On it!" He shouted, hurrying out of the office with Sam as Sharon looked confused.

"Sharon, give them access to their equipment!"

"But—"

"Do it!" Everett added and she nodded, hurrying out as the man cursed. "Shit. How could he get past our systems?"

"Your systems are shit," Jess complained. "You need more than just an ID with a picture. _Everyone_ should have more than one way to confirm their identity. You should have your _own_ photo of them, a fingerprint, DNA, _something_. This is why they are so suspicious of the accords. You lot don't understand what it means to be paranoid of everyone being a potential threat."

"We're _trying_—"

"Then, try harder," Jess said seriously. "Everett, you're a good guy, but trust me when I say the Avengers know more about protecting their own asses than any government. I amended the accords for that very reason, giving both sides something they can live with and it's been maybe forty-eight hours and the government has already screwed them over on this. So, you let them know." She stepped forward and prodded him in the chest. "As of now, I've gotten every one of the Avengers to sign the accord and until the government gets their asses in gear, apologizes for double-crossing them, takes responsibility for whatever is about to happen in the next few minutes, _and_ meets with all of us to ensure these accords are either dismissed as stupid or followed properly, _I'm_ in charge."

"You?"

"Read the accords," she snapped, starting to head to the controls for the cameras. "I was nominated by both the Avengers and the government as the neutral mediator between the two. Meaning, if anything isn't done right, I'm in charge of fixing it. And this?" She flipped one of the security feeds to a news report of Theo Broussard found dead in his hotel. "This is something that wasn't done right."

Everett hesitated, looking to Natasha and Tony who shrugged.

"You heard the woman."

Everett sighed, loosening his tie. "I'll make the calls."

The lights went out then along with the cameras and Tony used Friday to try and get a location on the outage.

"Send medics too, Tony," Jess reminded him. "Everett, keep as many of your staff away from there as possible. If that guy is brainwashing Barnes again, he won't be stopped by your soldiers. Let's keep the death numbers down, shall we? And get comms going for as many as you can."

"Evac all civilians," Everett said into his walkie. "Get me a perimeter around the building and gunships in the air."

"Make sure they only target whoever that fake psychologist was!" Jess called out, moving to join Natasha and Tony as they sped out of the room.

"Please tell me you brought a suit," Natasha grumbled.

"Sure did. It's a lovely Tom Ford, three-piece, two-button. I'm an active-duty non-combatant."

"Then, I guess it's a good thing I made friends here, isn't it?" Jess grit out as she spotted someone. "Sharon? If you would."

Sharon hurried over. "Follow me."

* * *

"Sam, Steve, I need info," I called through a radio I'd taken from a down's soldier. "Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to not grab a comm."

"_This is Sam. Our target is heading up the northeastern staircase. The Cap was thrown down an elevator shaft and Barnes is—_"

"Literally in the next room," I muttered, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Sam, keep updating on the location of that fake psychologist. We'll try to slow down Barnes until Steve gets here."

"_We're in position,_" Natasha said through the comms and Tony activated his watch to cloak his hand in his Iron Man suit.

He fired off a sonic blast, deterring Bucky from attacking more soldiers and drawing him towards the two of us. Tony gave me a pat on the shoulder before meeting with him as I called out.

"The gun first!"

"On it!" He chimed, using a flash to try and blind Bucky momentarily and managing to disarm the gun Bucky had before it went off.

He was soon knocked back into the tables and Sharon and Natasha rushed forward to try. They put up a decent fight until Sharon was thrown into a table and Natasha pinned by the throat until I smashed a table over his head.

"Whoops," I muttered, expression serious and I did my best to keep up with him as he attacked, jabbing a fork into a joint in his metal arm that appeared to only upset him further.

He swept my legs out from under me, but I used the momentum to roll back up only for a chair to swing towards my temple. I blocked it with my arm, but that left my side open and a harsh fist slammed into my ribs, leaving me cursing and partially winded. I brought my arm down though, trapping his metal one against my side and swung a leg up to kick his temple. He grabbed it with his free hand, swinging me around and throwing me off balance before jerking his metal arm free and slamming a fist into my left shoulder. I bit back a cry of pain as something snapped, only for a blur of black to rush in and fight Bucky off me.

"T-Try not to kill him, T'Challa!" I called out. "He's been brainwashed!"

"Normally, one would be more concerned for me," he scoffed, getting flipped as well but managing to roll onto his hands and feet. "I'm a king."

"And I'm in charge of this mess," I bit back. "Did we not agree I'd work something out for the both of us?"

"Fine, but I _am_ free to beat him to a pulp," T'Challa grumbled, rushing off after Bucky as I waved a hand.

"Yeah, fine, fine. Christ, what did that man break?" I winced, fingering where he'd hit me before Tony came up behind me and helped me sit up—scanning me with his glasses.

"Fractured your clavicle."

"Joy. Not much to do about that," I muttered, tapping my comms. "Sam, update?"

"_He's gone. Snuck off in the fleeing civilians._"

"Great," I hissed, allowing Tony to help me up. "Everett, get his picture out to everyone. We can't let him get away. Not when he knows how to control Barnes."

"_I'm already on it. I'll send you information on him as soon as we know who he is._"

"You have anything on where Barnes or Steve are?"

"_Cameras have them on the roof._"

"Tony," I hummed, and he nodded, rushing out to go check. "I'm going to try and get a hold of Steve, Everett. And you can tell the government that as of right now, the accords are nullified until this mess is dealt with. They can't follow the rules everyone agreed on, then neither can we."

"_Jess, they won't be happy about that._"

"And what are they going to do?" I pressed. "Because as of right now, I literally have _everyone_ on my side. The Avengers, Barnes, the Wakandan King, and the task force—because you know better than to get in an argument with me." I smirked as Tony came over the comms.

"_I __**can**__ still hear you, and they're both in the wind. Helicopter's destroyed in the river._"

"I'll deal with that. You just let them know, Everett. If they want to fight me on this, I can get every enhanced to stand down and watch _them_ try to catch him all on their own. They have no choice but to take what I'm offering and that's allowing me to run things until we have this terrorist under control. And I'm not talking about Barnes."

"_You know, this is why people thought I was crazy when I dated you back in college._"

"You're welcome."

* * *

"I don't suppose you have any idea where they are?" Secretary Ross questioned, Jess pointedly ignoring him as she typed away on her laptop. "Or, if you do, you won't tell us."

"The government broke the accords first when they allowed someone we didn't approve of to take charge in doing Barnes' psych eval," Jess replied, her cold gaze lifting to meet his. "This disaster is on them, not us."

"They're not going to just let you do as you want, Jess."

"And like I told Everett, I'd like to see them try and stop us. I go public with this? Let everyone in the world know that not only was Barnes framed by a terrorist and wrongly imprisoned, but the UN broke the rules of the accord within the first two days of it being finalized and allowed a _real_ terrorist to escape because of it? The public would be in an uproar. So, you tell me. What do they want to do?" She leaned back in her seat, closing the laptop and crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I can call them off, but it means the government is on their own trying to stop a terrorist determined to ruin us all and the public will find out how badly they screwed up."

Secretary Ross ground his teeth but knew he had no choice. "What do you want?"

"Absolutely nothing. The government doesn't have to do a single thing other than do what they always do: turn a blind eye to what the Avengers are up to. Though, the help of the task force would be appreciated."

He eyed her. "And what about the damages? Because this is beginning to look like another Sokovia, another Washington D.C."

"And if you look at the statistics of _all_ those incidents, far less trouble was caused than you initially thought. You can thank my business for that," Jess replied, picking up her coffee mug and shooting him a look. "My company has worked hard to help the people since before the Avengers were even a thing. I've made sure towns and cities are evacuated the moment I believe a fight is going to take place. I've ensured that said places are rebuilt in record time and that no one has to go homeless or jobless because of a villain attack—_not_ an Avengers' attack, a _villain's_.

"Because that's what the government has overlooked in this accord. The Avengers don't just go out and cause destruction because it's fun or because their powers are just uncontrollable. They go out and they fight people willing and able to cause _more_ destruction. You can put rules on the Avengers, but all that's going to do is make it easier for the villains. Now, you lot worry about looking the other way, while _I_ worry about the aftermath and the Avengers worry about your terrorist. Understood?"

"I could put special ops on this."

"And when the shooting starts, what? You kill Steve Rogers?" Natasha challenged.

"If provoked."

"Which would only add to the fuel I can throw to the media because now you're threatening to kill an iconic American Icon," Jess drawled, sipping her drink. "Just admit it, Secretary Ross. You have no moves."

"I want Barnes."

"No."

"He's a wanted criminal!"

"He's a brainwashed veteran who is being controlled by the _real_ terrorist, who I will gladly let you tear into," Jess snapped back, standing and facing him aggressively. "And I'd like to see you try and argue that in a court setting because I'll tell you right now, you _won't_ win against me."

He pursed his lips, barely holding back his anger. "Do you have proof?"

"I'll have it within the hour," Jess replied, relaxing her shoulders and like a flip of a switch, she calmed down and placed her coffee back on the table. "Tony and I are looking into the information I've received from Steve and Barnes."

"So, you _know_ where they're at."

"And I'm not telling you," she emphasized. "And don't try to be cocky about it, because Tony and I have an isolated system that none of your tech-savvy morons will be able to try and sneak in. Now, I will send you the proof that Barnes is just being controlled as soon as I get it."

"How do I know you won't just fabricate this so-called evidence?"

"Because I honestly have no connection with Barnes," she shrugged. "If he did this of his own free-will, I'd hand him over to you no problem. He's not my friend."

"But Steve is."

"Sure, but here's the thing about me. I don't stick my neck out for my friends unless there's a good reason, and I'm the type who doesn't coddle people. If I found out Pepper Potts was a drug kingpin, I would ensure she gets arrested and punished accordingly, no matter how much Tony wanted her safe. I'm a _lawyer_, Secretary Ross, and I will stand by my morals no matter _who_ the opposing side is. So, stop insulting me and get out before I lose my patience."

He left then and Jess let out a long exhale, sinking back into her seat and dropping her head into her shaking hands.

Tony got up, massaging her shoulders as Natasha eyed her.

"You all right?"

"I need a vacation."

"I offered you one after Ultron," Tony hummed, managing to ignore her when she glared at him. "I do believe you said no to every place I offered, and we had a lovely night in, instead."

"I need like… a month where you all just stay out of trouble and don't threaten to run me out of my business due to lack of destruction."

"Well, what's the plan for now?" Natasha questioned. "Even with the task force, we're severely understaffed."

"Steve and Sam are getting a couple for their side."

"We need a couple for ours," Tony hummed, giving Natasha a look. "Where's yours?"

"Downstairs. Where's yours?"

Tony smirked. "Queens. Jess, actually, you haven't met him yet."

"Should I be worried?"

"Depends. How good are you with kids?"

Jess shot him a look. "Kids? You're bringing a _kid_ into this?"

"Now, hear me out. I've been keeping an eye on him, seeing how he does, and he's your friendly neighborhood hero type. He won't get into too much trouble and if he does—"

"He goes straight home," Jess said seriously. "I mean it. The slightest injury or wrong step and he goes home."

"Of course! His aunt would honestly kill me otherwise if you haven't done it first."

Jess shot him a glare before shaking her head.

"And once we get everyone together?" Natasha asked and Jess leaned back.

"Put on a show, I suppose."

"What, seriously?" Tony questioned in disbelief. "Didn't you _just_ tell the Secretary of State that we weren't going to cause a mess?"

"We're not," Jess replied, opening her laptop and turning it around so they could see. "I've got the perfect—no civilians, no military interruption—place where everyone can let off some steam while solving all our problems I one go."

Natasha looked it over suspiciously. "_All_ our problems?"

"All of them."

"The accords, everything?" Tony asked as well, equally concerned.

"If this goes well, the accords won't be a problem. Wakanda will have their king return in good spirits. Barnes will be safe and may even have a chance to redeem himself and get rid of any brainwashing problems. The missing Avengers will be ignored. And I'll be able to take a long-deserved break along with the rest of us."

"Sounds good to me," Natasha smirked.

"Can't wait," Tony agreed, smiling and giving Jess a pat on the shoulder. "Now, you ready for a round trip to Queens?"


	27. Chapter 27

"Miss Parker—"

"Please, call me May."

I cracked a small smile. "May. You'll have to excuse me. I need to make a phone call before someone makes a mess of things."

"O-Oh! Sure!"

"Tony?"

"Mm?" He questioned, chewing on some sort of walnut bar that May had offered that I knew he hated.

"Behave."

He shot me an offended look, but I rolled my eyes and stepped just outside the small apartment, lifting my phone to my ear.

"_Hello, Miss Jess._"

"Vision, I told you to stop calling me that."

"_My apologies, Phoenix._"

"You know what? Never mind. I'll take 'Miss Jess' over that," I grumbled, earning a chuckle from him. "How's Wanda?"

"_She is in good health._"

"I meant, how is she acting?"

"_She is… quiet._"

_Go figure._ I sighed. "Vision, Steve is going to send someone to collect her."

"_Then, I will do everything in my power—_"

"You will let her go."

"_But surely—_"

"Vision, trust me. We're _all_ going to meet up. There will be no civilians involved other than the sole terrorist who thought he could get away with setting off a bomb in Vienna. She'll be safe. As it was, I… I shouldn't have done what I did by making her stay there."

"_She is not being forced._"

"No, but she's being guilt-tripped, which is just as bad. Give her the phone, would you?"

"…_Hello?_"

"Wanda, it's Jess. I just… I wanted to apologize for making you stay there."

"_No. I understand. I have caused enough problems._"

I sighed again, running my hand through my hair. "That's not it, Wanda. I was just trying to protect you, but the way I was going about it was wrong. Putting you behind closed doors won't do anything but confirm everyone's fears. You should have been here with the rest of us. Look, I've got a plan going and I've just told Vision to stand down. Steve is going to send someone to collect you. Go with him."

"_But it's dangerous to—_"

"Trust me when I say there is no danger to you or anyone with what's about to happen. I've got it all worked out and after this, no one will have to worry about the accords or being shut away because of public incidents out of their control, okay? Everyone will be there and… it'll be a learning experience."

"_Vision as well?_"

"_Everyone_," I pressed. "Well, other than Thor and Banner. I sent them an offer, but they refused, which is fine."

She chuckled. "_Everyone has been searching for them, and I don't know why I am surprised you know where they are._"

"I keep track of my people," I smiled, spotting someone down the hall heading this way. "Now, I've got work to do, so I'll see you when everyone's together. And tell Vision to relax. He's too uptight."

"_Of course._"

I hung up the phone just as the young man reached the door, making to unlock it, only to frown when he found it already open. He brushed it off and slipped in, allowing me to slide in behind him and lock the door as he greeted his aunt.

"How was school today?" May asked him as I took a seat next to Tony, stealing the walnut bar from his hands and taking a bite myself.

_Could be worse,_ I mused as Peter looked over.

"It was okay. There's this crazy car parked outside…" He trailed off upon seeing us.

"Oh, Mr. Parker," Tony smirked, pretending they didn't know each other.

"Um, what… what are you doing…" He stammered, removing his headphones before catching onto what Tony was doing. "Hey! Um, I-I-I'm Peter."

"Tony and this is Jess."

I gave a small wave to the kid. "I tried to tell him not to take a flashy car, but he refused."

"R-Right. What are you, what are you, what are you doing here?"

"It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?"

Poor Peter looked _very_ confused, though I leaned back in my seat to see how this played out.

"…Yeah."

"Right?"

"Yeah. Regarding the…"

"You didn't even tell me about the grant," May accused, filling in at least one blank.

"About the grant."

"The September Foundation," Tony clarified.

"Right."

"Yeah. Remember when you applied?"

"…Yeah."

"I showed it to Jess and we approved, so now we're in business."

"But you didn't tell me anything. What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?" May complained, making Peter scramble for an excuse.

"I just, I just know how much you love surprises so I thought I would let you know… Anyway, what did I apply for?" He questioned us, avoiding his aunt's probing questions for now.

"The September Foundation," I spoke up, checking my watch and knowing I had a few other calls to make before the cogs started doing the opposite of what I needed them to. "A grant that offers you funding to get through school based on your performance academically and through our application process."

"So, there's money involved?" He questioned, looking hopeful.

"Look who you're talking to," Tony snickered, before looking to May. "Can we have five minutes with him?"

"Sure."

"My, uh… My room's over here," Peter offered, leading the way and once we were in his room, Tony locked the door behind us.

"This is the kid?" I questioned and Tony nodded.

"This is him."

"Sorry, who, who are you again?" Peter questioned, looking at me.

"Jess Norris," I hummed, sitting in a chair and giving him a once-over. "Tony's girlfriend, business partner, and current person in charge of the mess going on right now with the Avengers. Which is why I'm currently in your bedroom. Tony, apparently, has some plans for you."

"Whoa, what do we have here?" Tony hummed, not even really listening once he'd spotted the set-up on Peter's desk. "Retro tech, huh? Thrift store? Salvation Army?"

"Uh, the, uh garbage, actually."

"You're a dumpster diver?" Tony repeated, unimpressed.

"Yeah, I was… A-Anyway, look. Um, I definitely did not apply for your grant."

"Ah-ah! Me first."

Peter paused. "Okay."

"Quick question of the rhetorical variety." Tony pulled out his phone, using the holographic imaging to show a video of a swinging red and blue figure. "That's you, right?"

"Um, no. What do you, what do you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Terrible liar," I muttered, giving Peter a look. "You need to work on that."

"Look at you go," Tony mused, switching the film to another one of him stopping a car about to hit a bus. "Wow! Nice catch. Three thousand pounds, forty miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills."

"Please don't say that again," I grumbled.

"That's all, that's all on YouTube though, right?" Peter pressed. "I mean, that's where you found that? Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on the computer."

"Mm-hm," Tony hummed, looking around as I sighed.

"Kid, you're not fooling us. We have an algorithm that searches through YouTube, Facebook and other social media looking for enhanced individuals from unaltered video footage. And…"

"What have we here?" Tony questioned, pushing up on a door leading to the attic and dropping the very same red and blue suit we saw—which Peter quickly grabbed and shoved into the laundry bin behind him.

"Again, terrible liar," I repeated as Tony eyed him trying to act nonchalant.

"So, you're the Spider-ling… Crime-fighting spider. You're Spider-Boy?"

Peter folded his arms across his chest, a bit embarrassed. "S-Spider-Man."

"Not in that onesie, you're not."

"It's not a onesie," Peter complained, moving to his bed as Tony looked at his outfit. "I can't believe this, I was actually having a really good day today, you know, Mr. Stark, Miss, um…"

"Norris. Jess is fine," I waved off as he continued.

"Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there and Algebra test… nailed it."

"Good job," I offered, earning a small smile.

"Thanks."

"Who else knows?" Tony questioned. "Anybody?"

Peter shook his head. "Nobody."

"Not even your unusually attractive aunt?"

"No. No," Peter pressed giving me a look as I rolled my eyes with a sigh—knowing Tony meant no harm by the words since he was just teasing me. "No, no, no. If she knew, she would freak out. And, and when she freaks out, I freak out."

"You know what I think is really cool?" Tony said, undoubtedly ignoring most of what he'd said and tossing the capsule that Peter caught without looking. "This webbing. The tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"

"I did."

"Climbing the walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?"

"It's a long story. I was…"

"Tony," I chided. "He's a human spider."

"Lordy! Can you even see in these?" Tony questioned, looking through the goggles of Peter's suit before Peter took it away. "I'm blind!"

"Yes, yes, I can. Look. I can, I can see in those. Okay? It's just that when whatever happened, happened it's like my senses have been dialed to eleven. There's, there's way too much input, so they, they just kinda help me focus."

"You're in dire need of an upgrade. Systemic, top to bottom, hundred-point restoration. That's why I'm here."

"Oh, here we go," I mumbled, giving Peter a look as he sat on the bed. "He won't stop now until you have a better suit. I just lost another week of sleep thanks to you."

"I, I'm sorry?"

"Why are you doing this?" Tony asked Peter then, a question more interesting to me than how his powers worked. "I gotta know. What's your MO? What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?"

"Because…" Peter struggled to form the words. "Because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers of six months. I read books. I build computers. And, and yeah. I would love to play football, but I-I couldn't then, so I shouldn't now."

"Sure, because you're different."

"Exactly. But I can't tell anybody that, so I'm not." He paused for a moment. "Look. When you can do the things that I can, but you don't… and then the bad things happen… they happen because of you."

Tony looked back at me as the room grew quiet, looking for my approval and I had to admit, that sort of thinking? After only six months with his powers? _He's responsible. He thinks before he acts. He's just a kid, but any kid I know would be showing off to the world, trying to be the next Hulk or the next Iron Man. But he just… tucked himself away. Selfless, protective over those he cares about, creative, smart, understanding and… God damn. He's got me. You __**would**__ find the one kid I wouldn't be able to leave alone._ I sighed, folding my arms over my chest with a small betrayed frown and Tony smirked, looking back to Peter knowing he'd won.

"So, you wanna look out for the little guy. You wanna do your part? Make the world a better place, all that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just looking out for the little guy. That's what it is."

Tony moved towards the bed, eyeing his leg sprawled over it. "I'm gonna sit here, so you move the leg."

Peter swung his leg off and Tony sat, giving his shoulder a pat.

"You got a passport?"

"No. I don't even have a driver's license."

"Have you ever been to Germany?"

"No."

"Oh, you'll love it."

"I can't go to Germany!"

"Why?"

"I got… homework."

Tony made a face. "All right. I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"N-No, I'm being serious! I can't just drop out of school!"

Tony got up. "Might be a little dangerous. Better tell Aunt Hottie I'm taking you on a field trip."

"You are _not_ calling her that," I grumbled in mild annoyance, earning a smirk from him.

"Depends. Are you jealous?" He questioned, putting a hand on the doorknob only for Peter to stand and use his webbing to stick it to the door as I snorted.

"Nope. Not jealous of that at all."

"Don't tell Aunt May," Peter said seriously, making Tony eye him.

"All right, Spider-Man. Jess will work out the details. Now, get me out of this."

"Sorry. I'll get the, uh…"

I cracked a smile, getting up. "Don't worry about it, Peter. I've got it."

"What? But, it's really strong and—" He gaped in shock though as my hand burned bright red and easily melted through the webbing. "Wow."

"Trust me. It's not as impressive as you think, but that's what I get for upsetting a rival of Tony's."

"Oh, he was hardly a rival," Tony scoffed.

"Nearly killing both of us out of jealousy and revenge? Sounds like a rival to me." I turned to Peter. "I'll work with your school to get you off on independent work-study while you're gone. That should ensure no dropping of your grades and I'll help you with your homework if you honestly need it."

"What, seriously?" Peter questioned, looking to Tony in shock as he shrugged.

"If she says so, buddy, she tends to mean it. See? I told you you'd like him."

"Oh, don't start," I grumbled. "I'll make up some excuse for your aunt too, so don't worry. Now, excuse me. I've got a Wakanan King and a task force agent to call."

And as I stepped out, I nearly chuckled at what I heard through the door.

"You're dating _that_?"

"Impressive, right?"

I rolled my eyes with a hint of a smile. _Honestly. Kids._

* * *

The airport was silent. All civilians evacuated and standing outside one of the hangars was a number of Avengers members and enhanced.

"All right, now that everyone's here, do we all understand what's going on?" Jess asked, standing at one end of the two lines of people and Peter leaned forward with a hand raised.

"A-Actually…"

Jess sighed. "Right. So!" She clapped her hands. "Here are the rules. All Iron Man suits are powered down to fifty-percent. Guns are not allowed. Lethal force is not allowed. Vision is also controlling his abilities down to be less effective. Try not to cause any damage that will take over a month to heal, so no broken bones preferable. Directly in front of me is a red line. Anyone who has finished taking out their aggression or feels they cannot continue will step behind this, say their farewells and move on with leaving to their destination unhindered.

"Steve and Barnes will take the Quinjet in hangar five. King T'Challa has already agreed on the plan I gave you both for when this mess is completely over and done with. Likewise, I expect any and all of you who are here to keep me updated with your location once you leave through the number I provided. It is a secure system. Not even Tony will be allowed to know where you are. People may request permission to know, but I will tell nobody unless you say it's all right. And I only need to know in case it's an emergency on a large enough scale that we need all of you back together. Any questions?"

"Why are we doing this?" Rhodes grumbled and Jess sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Because we're all stressed to the breaking point and have things we need to discuss, but you all like to use your fists, so this is the chance for you to feel free to do so."

"So, it's just a superpowered playground fight," Clint muttered.

"Basically, but it has a purpose. Everyone gets to vent their frustrations, the newbie's get a chance to see what teamwork is like and work out controlling their abilities in a superpowered fight, no civilians are involved, no military, no newscasters. We all get a chance to let loose and argue to our heart's content and in return, the world sees it as the end of the Avengers."

"You're breaking up?" Peter gaped.

"To everyone else, it will look like that. In reality, we're going our separate ways for a bit until we're needed back together," Jess explained, starting to walk between the lines of enhanced. "And with the Avengers split up, the accords are therefore nullified because they only apply to organizations, not individuals thanks to my subtle rewording of the amended portions. You're welcome. Now, you all have three minutes to start before I run in and punch someone myself," she said, her body flaring red as her own suit began to cover her, letting off steam. "And go easy on the kid."

"Hey!" Peter complained, going ignored as Jess stepped to the end of one of the lines, folded her arms over her chest and waited.

The group was quiet for a minute. Neither side wanting to be the fist as Jess glanced at her wrist, counting down. Then, finally Tony sighed.

"All right. I've run out of patience. Underoos!"

Peter slung webbing, grabbing Steve's shield and catching it as he jumped onto a car—leaving Steve with his hands bound as well.

"Nice job, kid," Tony praised.

"Thanks! Well, I could have stuck the landing a little better, it's just a new suit. Uh, it's nothing, Mr. Stark! I-It's perfect. Thank you."

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."

"Okay. Cap-Captain," Peter saluted him, earning a curious look from Steve. "Big fan. I'm Spider-Man."

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later," Tony complained. "Just, good job."

"Hey, everyone," Peter waved at the others, who were watching in mild amusement.

"You've been busy," Steve remarked, and Tony shot him a look.

"And you've been a complete idiot. I'm glad Jess set this up because I've been wanting to get a punch in on you for a _long_ time for the crap you've been putting her through and I—"

"Three, two, one, time," Jess muttered, before making Tony gap as her fist slammed into Steve's jaw, knocking him a few feet away. "Sorry, Tony. I've wanted to hit him far longer than you, I think."

"Well, that's just not fair," Tony grumbled, earning a look from her.

"I _did_ give you a three-minute head start."

"Nice hook," Steve complimented. "Lang?"

"Guys, something—" Peter was cut off as Lang resized and stole Steve's shield back, surprising Rhodes.

"What the hell was that?"

"I believe this is yours, Captain America," Lang said, handing the shield back as Steve broke the webbing on his wrists.

"Oh, great," Tony grumbled. "You two are teaming up? Nah, no thanks. Sam, you wanna go?"

"Oh, you bet."

"I'll get the Cap," Rhodes offered, rolling his shoulders. "Always wanted to have a showdown with you."

Steve smirked. "It'll be my pleasure."

"Barnes is mine," T'Challa chirped, readying himself as Barnes hesitantly did the same. "I plan on doing better than last time."

"Play nice, Cat Nip," Jess told him, giving the others a look. "As a heads up, I'm playing ref too. Anything against the rules and I'll interfere and put you in time out."

"Yes, mom," Clint drawled, making her smirk.

"Oh, you and me, Clint. I want to knock that sarcasm down a notch," Jess grinned, making him grumble.

"Great."

"Hey, Mr. Stark? What should I do?" Peter asked.

"What we discussed. Keep your distance, web them up to make them easier targets."

"Okay, copy that!"

"Hold on. I want a go with you, your majesty," Steve said, throwing his shield at T'Challa before he could get to Barnes. "You already had your fun with Bucky. I think it's my turn."

"Don't regret it," T'Challa mused, throwing multiple kicks at Steve, who blocked with his shield.

"Look, I really don't want to hurt you," Lang said to Natasha, who shot him a look.

"I wouldn't stress about it."

She began fighting him, only for him to use his size exchange as an advantage and flipping her until she managed to zap him. Peter had decided to try his luck with Barnes, who was quick to throw a punch, but Peter caught it easily.

"You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!"

Sam split away from Tony then, moving to help Barnes, so Tony tuned to trying to deal with Wanda.

"Wanda, I think you hurt Vision's feelings," he lightly chided her.

"You locked me in my room."

"Okay, first, that's an exaggeration. Second, it was to protect you. And third… it was Jess's idea." He was suddenly knocked out of the sky by Jess, who huffed, flexing her red-tinted metal hand.

"Blaming me, you dick. At least I apologized!"

Tony hit the ground by Clint, who had armed his bow to fire at Jess before she'd flown off to punch Tony.

"Hey, Clint."

"Hey, man."

"Clearly, retirement doesn't suit you. You got tired of shooting golf?"

"Well, I played eighteen, shot eighteen. Just can't seem to miss," he quipped, firing off some arrows at Tony once he'd gotten back in the air.

Tony dodged them, firing off shots to destroy the arrows. "Well, first time for everything."

Clint though smirked. "Made you look."

Cars began to fall from the parking structure behind him with Wanda's power until he was eventually knocked into the ground.

"No broken bones, I said!" Jess chided.

"Sorry," Wanda smiled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Peter was doing his best to try and get a hold of Sam, while also dealing with projectiles from Barnes.

"Hey, buddy! I think you lost this!" He chimed, throwing the sign back only to get kicked off his perch by Sam.

He was easily able to get off him and used his webbing to shut down Sam's suit before pinning him to a railing.

"Those wings carbon fiber?"

"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Sam questioned in return.

"That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio which—I gotta say—that's awesome, man."

"I don't know if you've been in a fight before, but there's usually not this much talking."

Peter chuckled. "All right. Sorry. My bad."

Barnes tried to stop him kicking Sam, but instead, they both ended up webbed to the ground.

"Guys, look, I'd love to keep this up, but I've only got one job here today and I've gotta impress Mr. Stark and Jess, so I'm really sorry." He went to web them some more, but his web shooter was grabbed by one of Sam's drones and he was thrown out a window.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Barnes complained.

"I hate you."

* * *

I settled behind the red line, letting my helmet slide off as I drank from a water bottle, only to nearly choke when a truck was flipped through the air and exploded.

"Lang!" I shouted, making him wince.

"I-I thought it was a water truck! Sorry!"

Tony went over and helped Natasha up, and I sighed, beginning to see how this could start getting out of hand. _That's the problem with being the ref. I had my turn to blow off steam, now I have to ensure the others don't actually kill each other._ I watched as they lined up once more and the fighting began again. _Tony and Steve, T'Challa and Barnes, Natasha and Lang, Peter and Vision versus Clint and Wanda. Nope, they've switched it up. Natasha and Clint with a hint of Wanda and… now I need to step in_. I sighed, helmet coming back on as the rest of the water evaporated and I threw myself forward, grabbing T'Challa's clawed am before he could grab Barnes by the neck. He resisted on instinct, before my hand heated up, warning him.

"No lethal actions. Time out. _Now._"

He hesitated and I tipped my head, challenging him to argue before he sighed and nodded. He left to go wait behind the red line, but I waved him off, giving him the go-ahead to leave and he gave me a salute before stepping out. I sighed, looking to Barnes.

"You done?"

He nodded, looking a bit worn out and ready to leave, so I gestured to the line and he started for it.

"Wait for Steve. I'm going to be ending this soon."

Lang suddenly became gigantic and I sighed.

"And by soon, I mean now." I tapped my comms. "Steve, your friend is ready to go, get behind the line."

"_You sure?_"

"Yes, I'm sure. We're done and you lot are getting out of hand. Vision, help me out and take care of the ground under the Giant's feet. Tony and Peter, get the others off the field and behind the line. Get Wanda to play defense should Lang start chucking things at the line."

"_What about you?_"

"I'm gonna seal him in. Vision?"

"_On it, Phoenix._"

I sighed, taking off into the air. "I really should have punched whoever agreed on that name."

Lang wobbled as Vision cracked the concrete under his legs, making him sink. I flew over and removed my suit, heating up my body as hot as it would go, and melting said concrete before Lang toppled forward.

"Vision, get his arms too."

"_Of course._"

And once I heated that up, Lang was trapped, leaving me to cool down and face him with my hands on my hips like a scolding mother.

"You know, I expected Tony to be the one causing trouble, not a newbie."

He chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah, oh so funny. You know who has to pay for all these planes?"

"Y-You?"

"Not anymore, no. Tell me, how much do _you_ make?"

"Uh, oh," Tony muttered, leaning over to Natasha. "He thought she was going to pay."

"Yeah, never assume the woman pays the bill."

"Especially not Jess."

I twirled a finger. "Come on then. Get small."

Lang shifted, tearing his limbs out of the concrete that I heated up for him as he rolled onto the ground.

"Anyone have any orange slices? Or, you know, a few million dollars I can borrow?"

I ignored him moving in front of those behind the line. "Now, everyone got it out of their system?"

The group nodded.

"Good. Steve, Barnes, head 'em out. Tony and I will catch up with you later to help deal with the other Winter Soldiers. Anyone hurt beyond scratches and bruises?"

There were shrugs and mumbles, but nothing concrete and I nodded.

"Good. Let's plan another, less destructive fight some other time. Peter, you've got homework waiting for you."

Peter sagged in defeat.

"Clint, I sent you a vacation package since you were supposed to go out with Laura. Send her my apologies."

He snorted. "You kidding? She loves you."

"Don't boost her ego," Tony muttered, wincing when a heated rock bounced off his helmet.

"Pot, meet kettle," I said shortly, tossing another rock in my red hand, eyes flaring gold.

Smart him held up his hands in surrender, wincing and I rolled my eyes, heading over and looking at his arm.

"I thought I asked about injuries."

"I'm fine."

I eyed him. "You're lucky it's not broken."

He cracked a smile as we started back for where we left the cars. "On the plus side, at least there won't be any fighting for a bit."

"Don't jinx it."


	28. Chapter 28

"Check this out," Jess said, flipping up a hologram as they flew back for Berlin.

"What am I looking at?" Tony asked as she ran her thumb across the back of his hand.

"Colonel Helmut Zemo, our fake Broussard and the proof that Barnes was famed."

"He's the guy we're after?"

"Yup. Sokovian intelligence. Ran a covert squad called Echo Scorpion. The actual Broussard was killed in a hotel room."

"Which is what you found earlier."

"Kind of. I looked up what hotel he was staying in, searched the cameras. Saw one man leave and him never exit. I leaped to a conclusion and thankfully it was an accurate one. Police who found him also found a wig and prosthesis to make him look like Barnes."

"Did you send this to Ross?"

"I stretched the whole 'in an hour' remark, but I got it to him eventually. The information was ready when we were having our little picnic with the others."

"And you know where we are headed now?"

"Yup. A snow-covered hell, if I'm being honest. Steve and Barnes might already be there. Zemo most definitely is."

"Meaning five very upset Winter Soldiers about to be woken up and controlled by a terrorist."

"Meaning exactly that."

"So, we bring in the others."

"Can't," I sighed. "That fight we did _had_ to be the last meeting. If we drag them back now, they'll be sent to prison."

"What? Why?"

"Because Secretary Ross isn't the nicest guy and no matter what proof I send him, he'll still try to lock them up if he gets the chance." I gave him a look. "We both know about the stupid enhanced prison. I've got things in the works to try and get it destroyed or at least under the restriction of what used to be the Avengers to hold villains alone. Thing is, until Secretary Ross is out of office and someone on _our_ side is put in, we need to be careful."

Tony gave me a snarky look. "You've got plans?"

"I can kick him out, but—"

"Oh, don't worry. I've got someone in mind. You get him out, I'll ensure I have hands on who gets put in."

I chuckled, leaning into him. "What a pair we are."

"You're telling me. Great idea, by the way. The whole backyard rumble. How many birds did you kill with that stone?"

"More than expected."

"And you really don't like the name?"

"Oh, it was _you?_" I complained, getting off his shoulder.

"What? I thought it was funny. You know, a little play on words. They all agreed to it. The whole rising for the ashes, firebird thing."

"You're terrible."

"But seriously. No help? None?"

"One," I corrected as we started to get suited up in the helicopter.

"Who?"

"The only person practically immune to the laws outside his own country."

"Cat-Man?"

Jess nodded. "Cat-Man."

* * *

Steve and Bucky moved as stealthily as they could into the facility, knowing that all of the Winter Soldiers could already be awake and active. There was a loud noise from behind them and Steve hunkered down with his shield while Bucky lifted his weapon over the man's head.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

When the doors opened though, they relaxed at the two Iron Man suits that stepped through—one red, one blue.

"Hello, boys," Jess said, lowering her helmet with a sigh. "Find anything yet?"

Steve shook his head. "Not yet. Let's move carefully."

"Yup. Goes for you too, Cat Nip," she called back behind her as T'Challa stepped out of the shadows.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

"Two reasons. One, I have since lost all respect for your little king title when you threw a tantrum based on one false news report. Two, Black Panther is a bit of a mouth full."

T'Challa sighed heavily.

"Let's just move on, shall we?" Steve said with a small smile, glad everyone was willing to get along for this.

"I got heat signatures," Tony said as they rounded a corner, everyone tensing up.

"How many?"

"Uh, one," Tony replied, confused as the group stepped out into a more open area where the cryochambers were.

Said chambers lit up, revealing that all the heart monitors were flatlined for the rest of the Winter Soldiers.

"_If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep,_" Zemo replied over the speakers as the group moved further in, Jess whispering under her breath.

"Do we have anything to keep Bucky under control? This _is_ the guy who knows how to use the brainwashing against us, and he's now got the speaker system."

"I've got nothing," Tony muttered back. "You, Cap?"

"Nope."

"Oh, you guys would be useless without me," Jess sighed, handing Bucky a set of altered iPod earbuds. "Put these in. Hope you like rock music."

Bucky raised a brow but did as she asked, wincing slightly at how loud the volume was, but understanding the importance of it.

"_Did you really think I wanted more of you_?" Zemo asked.

"What the hell," Bucky murmured as he looked over the corpses with bullets in their heads.

"_I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here._"

"Course, it's a trap," Jess complained as Zemo revealed himself behind a window. "Don't bother. It's probably—"

Tony aimed his fist and Steve threw his shield; it bouncing off harmlessly.

"—reinforced," Jess finished with a sigh, giving them both looks. "Seriously? This _was_ a facility built to withstand not only the harsh weather outside, but the abuse Winter Soldiers would be able to inflict on the unenhanced running the place."

"_Your friend is right. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets._"

"I'm betting I could beat that," Tony challenged.

"_Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came._"

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve snapped as Jess frowned in her suit, muttering under her breath.

"No. He had a plan. This isn't to do anything with Bucky. If it was, he could have had Bucky die anytime. There's something more. Something I'm missing. What's his end goal?"

"He said to take down an empire," Steve muttered back, giving her a glance, knowing that she was working through this better than any of them could.

It was about time they listened to her to figure things out. Even he knew that at this moment, none of them knew what to expect. Steve stepped up to the glass separating him from Zemo.

"_I've thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized… there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw._"

"You're Sokovian," Steve declared, trying to give Jess more information to work with. "Is that what this is about?"

"_Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell._"

"This is personal," Jess concluded, struggling to think back to the sleepless night she spent trying to study up on everyone. "An empire… What empire? He attacked Vienna, attacked using Bucky in the center of a task force where he knew Bucky wouldn't get away."

"_I'm here because I made a promise._"

"You lost someone."

"_I lost __**everyone**__,_" Zemo clarified with a click of his tongue. "_And so will you_."

"Oh… Oh, no," Jess breathed as Zemo turned on a computer monitor nearby.

"What? What is it?" Tony asked as Steve moved for the computer.

"This isn't about Bucky. It never was. This is about us, about the Avengers. The attack on Vienna messed with the accords, splitting the Avengers. He brought a brainwashed Bucky into the compound in Berlin to split us up even further with some siding with Steve and others not, because he knew him and Bucky were friends, and he wouldn't _not_ save him. He studied Steve because Steve was what was holding it together. He's the leader. If he gets someone to make everyone go against Steve, then Steve loses everything. The Avengers completely tear apart. He wants us to lose everyone."

"_An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever,_" Zemo clarified and Tony started to move for the computer, but Jess placed a hand on his arm.

"Tony, you have to remember that going in. I don't know what he's showing us, but it's going to be done on purpose to make someone angry, and I'm betting it's you."

"It'll take a lot more than a video to make me angry," Tony scoffed, but Jess didn't budge, helmet sliding off once more.

"Tony, I mean it. I don't care _what_ it is, you can't let it get to you. And if you do, I _will_ stop you."

Tony paused, eyeing her and the seriousness in her eyes, but he could see it tucked underneath. Just as he could always see the emotions she tried to hide. Jess was worried. No, Jess was scared about what this video held. Scared for him. And she was willing to step in the way and face whatever emotion he let loose because of it. He needed to be careful. He needed to be solid, unmovable in his resolve. And slowly, with a small nod, Jess let him go and he went over to view the footage.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing, watching footage of his parents being killed. A sort of ringing started up in his ears as anger flooded into him. He didn't notice Jess sending T'Challa after the missing Zemo. He only had eyes for the video showing Bucky killing his father and mother. He soon lifted his gaze, eyeing Bucky who had the decency to look upset himself. He hadn't been in control at the time, under HYDRA's control and just following orders. It didn't excuse what he'd done, but he knew that wouldn't matter to Tony. And he was right when Tony lunged towards him, only for Steve to grab his am and Jess to move between them.

"No, Tony," Steve stopped him, and Tony looked to him with betrayal.

"Did you know?"

"I didn't know it was him," Steve tried to argue, making Jess wince and grit her teeth as Tony snapped.

"Don't bullshit me, Rodgers. Did you _know_?"

"Yes."

Tony jerked out of his grip and Jess knew to give Tony a bit of space for the moment, knowing he was overwhelmed and needed a second to get himself in order. Tony took a deep breath and punched Steve, helmet slipping on and turning to make for Bucky—who'd raised his gun. Jess got in the way though, keeping her helmet off and shoving Buck's gun down as she held out a hand to press against Tony's chest.

"Tony, one punch, then let it go."

Tony pressed against her hand, baring his teeth under his helmet. "I can't. I-I can't, Jess. He killed my mother."

He tried to shove her away, but she continued to stay between them, trying to stop him and get him calm.

"And I get that, Tony. I know you're angry. I know you're _furious_ at what he's done but look at him. Properly, Tony! Don't let your anger cloud you now and look at him! He _knows_ what he did! Mind control or not, he _hates_ what he's done! To you, to everyone he's hurt because of something that was out of his control. You tell me every god damn night not to blame myself for something out of my control, and you want to stand here and blame him? For the same thing? Just _think_, Tony! I don't give a shit what everyone else has always said about you, but I _know_ you have a heart. You're kind to a god damn fault, so look and understand that he's destroyed by this, just like you. We don't need to fight because some dick of a terrorist is trying to pit us against each other."

Tony was silent for a moment, eyes shifting from Bucky to Jess. "I'm sorry, Jess."

Her eyes widened as his fist flew at her face, slamming into her jaw and knocking her back before he threw himself at Bucky once more. Tony knocked him back, pinning his metal arm to the ground and making to shoot him in the face but he hesitated of a split second when he remembered Jess's expression before he'd hit her. It was just long enough of Steve to throw his shield against his helmet, drawing the fight to him. Tony pinned his legs an attempt to keep him out of the fight, flying Bucky up to beat into him. Steve was able to escape, having to grab Jess and get her out of harm's way when a section of the building began to collapse.

"You all right?"

Jess wiped blood from the corner of her lips, the left side of her face purpling. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Weren't you just saying—"

"Shut up. You worry about getting Bucky out of here. I'll deal with Tony."

"And Zemo?"

"Already taken care of. T'Challa doesn't need to be involved in this mess, just deal with him. I sent him ahead, now,_ go_."

Steve nodded, hurrying after Bucky as Jess took a second to brush off the slight daze Tony's hit had caused. Bucky tried to make a run for it and started opening the hatch above them to escape while Steve tried to calm Tony himself.

"It wasn't him, Tony. HYDRA had control of his mind."

"Move," Tony ordered, ignoring him.

"It wasn't him!" Steve shouted, grabbing him by the leg and using his shield to destroy his booster.

Tony managed to get out of the hold, using his lasers to cause a small cave-in, preventing Steve from chasing immediately after him.

"Move, Steve," Jess grumbled, and Steve moved out of her way as she blasted through the rubble, giving them access to the tunnel where Tony was fighting to gain height and take down Bucky.

Tony went to fire a shot, but Jess gave Steve a hand-hold, allowing him to flip up and block the blast with his shield. Said blast hit Tony in return and Steve got a wire around Tony, hauling him down a few levels until he escaped and shot his shield out of reach. Tony went to fire up at Bucky, having to remove his helmet to do so, but just as he let the shot fire, Jess knocked his arm off. His shot missed Bucky and hit the joint holding the hatch at the top—closing off their escape route.

"Tony, this needs to stop!"

"Stay out of my way, Jess," Tony growled, knocking her aside and flying up to grab Bucky. "Do you even remember them?" He hissed.

"I remember all of them."

The two began to sink down towards the lower levels before Steve threw himself at them, knocking them out of the sky until Jess flew down and grabbed Bucky, managing to soften the landing a little.

"You okay?"

Bucky nodded, glancing at Steve's shield nearby and Jess sighed.

"I was trying to talk him out of it, but he's not listening. I really didn't want to do this."

She scooped up the shield, looking down to where Tony and Steve were fighting, before jumping in and using the shield to block a shot at Steve.

"I tried to play nice, Tony, but I said I would stop you," she muttered, voice sad as she handed the shield back to Steve. "Take care of Bucky."

"I'm sorry, Jess," Steve said, knowing that this whole mess would definitely put a divot in her relationship with Tony.

"He's just hurt," Jess muttered softly, before sighing. "But that doesn't give him the reason to be stupid. Go."

Steve nodded, picking up his shield as Bucky climbed down from above, making to slip out into the snow. Tony tried to stop them, but a heated palm slammed into his arm, knocking the blast off target before Jess grabbed him and threw him over her shoulder into the ground. Tony growled, firing off another shot from his chest and following up with a punch as he moved to get up, clipping her shoulder. She winced but pushed back the pain from her still-healing clavicle and dodged the punch, slamming her own fist into his chest piece with a bit of fire, making his systems spark dangerously.

"Let me _go_, Jess!"

"No. I tried talking to you, but you obviously can't see through whatever stupid revenge plot you've got running in your head. So, I'll literally have to make you submit because you're being stubborn!" She snapped, forcing back the watery gurgle of emotion that threatened to slip through.

Tony kicked her off him, making for the opening out to the snow, but she tackled him from behind. Fists went flying as snow melted everywhere Jess touched, her fire abilities raging within her along with her emotions as Steve and Bucky made it to the Quinjet. She wasn't angry though, and perhaps that's why Tony was getting so many hits in. A hit to her side, her shoulder, her knee. He'd changed focus now and Jess began to realize that; soon, not fighting back at all. His hits were getting sloppy, weak. His shouts of anger being reduced to cries of frustration and anguish.

He swept Jess's legs out from under her and she fell back into the snow, steam rising off her suit as her helmet flipped off and her red skin cooled. Tony's fist swung out, but she turned her head, making it slide into the snow before she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He struggled against her, trying to pull her off but she held fast and soon, he just sagged and dropped his head against her shoulder with a heartbroken sob.

* * *

Tony laid on the bed, tired eyes running over Jess as he reached towards her slowly. She was sleeping deeply, for the first time in a long while, and for once, their roles had changed. She was helping _him_ through the nightmares now, even though she undoubtedly still had her own to deal with. Ever since he'd seen the truth in that video, it would take her practically dragging him to bed to ensure he slept at all. Even now, she had an arm draped over him and her forehead pressed against his bare shoulder as though trying to protect him from his past.

He couldn't help but feel guilty however, as he ran his hand down her arm where dark bruises marred her pale skin. Her cheek was still swollen and was a nasty shade of purple, forcing her to eat only soft foods for the last few days. It seemed that whenever he was involved, she got hurt. A finger traced one of the three lines that were running over her chest from Ultron, and he tried not to think about the others on her back from Vanko's electric whip. What made him the most angry though, were all the scars from a time when he couldn't protect her—from her father.

He let out a soft sigh, reaching out and pulling her closer to him as he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the top of her head. He vowed he would do better in that moment. He planned on taking a step back from the Iron Man mess, giving her the break she needed. In fact, he'd let her pick someplace to go and run her business for her while she was gone enjoying herself. Yes, that's what he'd do. He wanted to keep her by his side, but he knew how frustrated she would get if he did. So, he'd give her this instead. She needed time to heal and it would give him a chance to come to terms with what he'd just learned about his parents.

Jess let out a soft grumble, tightening her grip on him with a slight furrow of her brows, as he smiled and relaxed, running his fingers gently through her hair until she let out a soft sigh. He really had all the luck to find someone like Jess.


	29. Chapter 29

**This is the beginning of "Doctor Strange." It will be more OC focused than usual with some bits in 3rd person for Strange's thoughts. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet, but the next chapter is coming along better than this one—which was just being a pain for a bit. There will be no OCxStrange in this section (since she's with Tony) so no worries there, though I can't wait for Tony to find out about her and Strange ;)**

**Please, let me know what you think.**

* * *

"_Tell me again why you picked __**Nepal**__ of all places to vacation? Last I checked, it's just a smog-filled trash heap at the base of Everest._"

"First off, rude," Jess said to Tony over the phone, dodging a bicyclist easily as she wandered the crowded streets—voice raised so he could hear her over the cacophony of noise coming from the street vendors and motorists around her. "Second, I figured it's busy enough to keep me on my toes. With all the nonsense you guys got me into with the Avengers, I wanted someplace lively. Keeps me from getting bored."

"_You sure you don't want me to drop by? Sweep you off to someplace nicer?_"

"Tony, you said I could pick, and someone has to take care of the business."

"_Pepper could do it._"

"_Pepper_ is getting ready for her first kid and doesn't need to worry about trying to run my business on top of what is somehow still considered yours."

"_Hey! I still make executive decisions!_"

"Like what? Which Swiss bank account the money goes into?" Jess teased with a chuckle. "Relax, Tony. The worst thing I have to deal with here is the occasional biting monkey."

"_You've got your rabies vaccine?_"

"And tetanus and all the other requires vaccinations in order to travel outside the country on top of some you demanded, yes." Jess rolled her eyes. "Like I'm going to get the flu in Nepal, honestly."

"_And your suit?_"

"Tucked away safely should I need it, which I _won't_ because this is my first vacation in years, and I plan on enjoying it. Now, I'm going to hang up and maybe do some shopping. I'll bring you back a souvenir if you can hold off calling me for more than a few hours."

"_A day?_"

"If you can make it three, I'll bring back something more exciting for you, okay? Bye, Tony. I plan on getting a bit of backpacking done anyway, so my reception might be a bit terrible."

"_Remind me to ensure a cell tower is put over there next time you decide to go to Nepal._"

"It's called a flight of fancy for a reason, you know. I might never come back here. Who knows?" She shrugged, smiling politely at a vendor and waving them off when they offered her a freshly caught fish. "Bye, Tony."

"_Love you._"

Her expression softened. "Yeah, love you too, Iron Man." She hung up the phone, before looking up through the smog at the blurred shape of the Himalayan Mountains. "How about a hike to start?"

* * *

Water poured from the sky and I cursed, ducking under the nearest awning and shaking my hand through my hair with a scowl at the sky. _So much for hiking. I wanted to see how far up I could walk in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Test my internal heating a bit, but no. Should have aimed for a spring vacation and not during the rainy season in autumn. _I sighed, checking my backpack to see if the water had managed to soak through to my laptop, but everything was dry. Well, aside from me, anyway.

I pulled out my phone and heaved a sigh at the sight of the black screen and dead battery. _Guess I'm just going to have to wait it out. _A rumble of thunder made me groan. _And it sounds like it's going to be a while. Wish my heat could dry me off, but I've tried that before. Just makes me feel clammy and I've taken my suppressants today too. Last thing I need is to be caught in a crowd and glowing. _I looked around idly, seeing shops nearby that were empty and suddenly realizing that the door I stood in front of had no shops near it.

_Odd. Wonder who they paid off to actually have a few feet of space free of cheap merchandise and tourists_. I pulled a hand through my damp hair with a grumble of complaint, leaning against the door for only a second before it swung open and I fell backward. I pushed myself up, ready to apologize for intruding, but no one was around. I frowned, but shook it off, assuming the door just hadn't been closed all the way. _I'll just step back out and pretend I hadn't just stupidly fell into someone's home. _Yet, when I got up, the door closed and clicked shut.

"What the…"

I went over and tugged on it, but it remained locked without an actual latch anywhere in sight. Seeing no other choice, I slowly turned around and went further in to search for whoever owned the building to apologize and leave.

"Hello?" I chimed quietly, peeking around a corner to see an empty area with a table along one side and a door across from me.

_Great. No one home?_ I frowned, moving further in only to feel a chill run down my spine, making me pause. Someone or something was here. I turned quickly on instinct, dodging a bright orange, almost electrical pole that was being swung at me. Natasha's training kicked in and I did my best to dodge the oncoming attack while trying to get said attacker to stop so I could explain.

"W-Wait! Wait! Give me a second to explain!" I shouted, only for a second person to appear out of nowhere with whip made of similar material.

I cursed as I now had to dodge and defend against both weapons as I started to get more and more annoyed.

"Oh, for God's sake!" I snapped, allowing the whip to wrap around my arm and using my fire ability to protect against any damage it might cause as I grabbed it with my hand—glaring at the hooded figure holding it. "I have a _really_ bad problem with whips, you know."

With a heave, I yanked it forward and grabbed the man by the hood, swinging him around and slamming him to the floor before blocking the pole being swung at me with my arm. Glaring once more, I allowed my arm to heat up, eyes glaring gold as I grabbed it and twisted, swinging my foot around and bashing it into the man's shoulder.

He released it and I tossed it aside, dropping my foot down onto the man on the ground who'd begun to try and get up.

"Move, and I'll melt a hole right through you," I threatened him, more annoyed by this whole thing than anything.

"There will be no need for that," a woman spoke as she entered.

I eyed the robe-like clothing and her shaved head for a moment before removing my foot and stepping away from the man on the ground. He got up hastily as I raised my hands in peaceful surrender, eyeing the woman as I tried to cool my body down. _And I was using suppressants too. Damn. Might need to ask Tony about upping the dosage. _

"Normally, I would apologize, but they _did_ attack first," I grumbled, watching the woman as she eyed me with a small frown.

"After you snuck in," she pointed out.

"It was hardly sneaking. I leaned on your door and it fell open. Then, it was latched shut. So, I came to ask someone to let me out only to get jumped."

"How… curious," she mused, waving off the men's concern when she approached and I lowered my hands, eyeing her just the same as she eyed me. "That door doesn't open for anyone, much less lock them in."

"Good to know I can upset a _door_ of all things."

She smiled pleasantly then, gesturing for the door further in. "Would you like some tea? We can offer you a bath as well and a change of clothes until yours dry. Wouldn't want you to get sick."

I raised a brow at her. "You'd invite a complete stranger into your home, offer them a bath and change of clothes after they just had a fight with your…" I gave the two men a look. "...guards?"

"They are not my guards. They're my students and to answer your question, yes. I would invite a stranger into my home." She smiled again, a sort of suspiciously nice and polite smile. "It's how I tend to earn students, though you are more than a pleasant surprise."

"Why's that?" I asked as she led the way and I followed, equally curious about her.

"I don't know who you are," she replied, confusing me further.

She gave off a strange sort of energy that reminded me of the Tesseract and the Mind Stone but more… open and friendly. It was weird to feel that from a human being.

"You say that like you usually know the strange people who walk in," I muttered, eyeing the courtyard we walked past as rain poured down onto a tree in the center that was half bare of its leaves.

"I typically do," she smiled.

_Don't know why I'm surprised. Wanda was able to use people's minds. And I can technically see events of the future. Who's to say there isn't an enhanced who can read someone's memories?_ She paused in front of a room, gesturing to it.

"You can use this room for now. I'll have someone drop off some clothes for you to wear and bring you to where we will have tea."

"Sure, all right," I shrugged, stepping in and looking around.

_Oh, Tony would be pissed if he heard I'm staying at some lady-monk's house. Least I have my suit if anything happens but… I feel oddly comfortable here. _

"Might I inquire your name?" She asked, making me turn to her.

"Only if you tell me yours."

She cracked another smile. "I'm called the Ancient One."

I blinked slowly. "And I'm called Phoenix. We done playing games?"

She raised a brow and I rolled my eyes.

"Jess. Jess Norris," I muttered. "I'm not going to be all mysterious like you. It's tedious."

She chuckled. "Then, I will see you at tea."

She stepped out, leaving me be and I stripped myself of my wet clothes, running my hand through my damp hair as I stepped into the bathroom to bathe. _What the hell am I doing? Comfortable gut feeling or not, I honestly shouldn't be hanging out with people who just tried to kill me. _Yet, as I sank into the bath with a sigh, closing my eyes and listening to the rain patter against the roof, I knew I wasn't about to leave anytime soon.

"Damn this place for being so relaxing."

* * *

I wandered out of my room, following a woman dressed in similar robes as the dark grey ones I was now wearing as she led me to where the Ancient One was seated on the ground having tea. I sat across from her, accepting my own cup and feeling the tension roll off my shoulders as I drank. _Again, they could have poisoned it but I'm so damn relaxed…_

"Good tea," I murmured, peering open an eye as she chuckled.

"One of my students said the very same. I think you two would get along."

"I tend to unintentionally piss off those who people think I'd get along with," I hummed, lowering my tea and leaning back on one of my hands. "Nice place though. Big, open. You run a school then? Like a sort of… Shaolin monk tai chi class?"

"Something like that," she said, sipping her own tea. "The storm isn't supposed to pass for a few days at least. You're welcome to stay here."

"Thanks. Suppose there's no point in leaving just yet. I was going to try climbing Everest, but this quickly put a damper on that."

"Why are you in Nepal, Miss Norris?"

I groaned immediately. "Don't call me that. Jess is fine. I hate formality."

"Yet, you're actually quick apt at speaking formally."

"Ex-lawyer," I grumbled. "It's habit. And I own a business so I'm constantly at meetings. I came here to relax and get away from things for a bit."

"Alone?"

"My boyfriend is… clingy and tends to attract trouble."

"Why Nepal?"

I began to wonder why I was telling her everything, but it was hardly life-changing information. "I like being busy. Someplace like Hawaii or Fiji isn't to my taste."

She smiled again, raising her tea to her lips. "You would definitely get along."

I ignored the comment, though it made me curious about this student of hers.

"So, anything I should know about since I'm here for a few days?" I asked. "Rules, policies, mandatory meditation time?"

"No knowledge is restricted here. Feel free to roam and ask questions. I'll inform the masters that you are here. Any meditation, reading or participating in activities is up to you. Although, I would appreciate if you didn't… melt anything. Good wooden floors are difficult to replace."

I snorted. "That's fine. I'm taking suppressants anyway and tend not to use my ability."

She eyed me curiously. "You're afraid of it?"

I pursed my lips, setting down my tea and drumming my fingers on the cup. "I… am not confident I can control it."

"You seemed capable earlier."

"I already took suppressants today, and even then, I shouldn't have been able to heat up so much. My powers tend to flare up with emotions. The last thing I need is to flare up in a crowd or…"

"Ah, I see. You fear hurting your loved ones."

I remained silent, having discussed this before with my therapist and with Tony as well, who was determined to prove I'd never hurt him. And I hadn't… _yet_. But I didn't trust that I never would and that only added to my nightmares.

"Perhaps, once you've settled in, I may help you find a solution to controlling it," she said, drawing me out of my thoughts. "I have space where you may be able to practice without fear, but you will need supervision and I wish to learn more about you, Jess, before I go trusting that you are worthy of knowing that much about our magic."

"Is that what it is? Magic?" I asked.

"The 'Magic of the Mystic Arts' is what we call it, though it is not like the magic you find in movies or books. Feel free to look at some of our library books on it, though the books you'll be allowed to look at are limited."

"Sure. Can't have some random person learning all your secrets," I shrugged, getting up. "Do you have sparring practices?"

She chuckled. "Yes, and with how you handled my students earlier, I encourage you to join in."

I nodded. "Only if I get bored."

"I look forward to learning more about you."

I gave her a brief look. "Same, Ancient One."

* * *

Strange frowned, eyes roaming to the woman who was standing in the back of the class and following along with their sling ring warmups. He normally didn't bother trying to learn about the other students here, but she was different somehow. She wasn't given a sling ring, nor did any form of the mystic arts appear when she followed along. _He_ had at least gotten sparks when he was struggling.

Yet, she looked very relaxed as she moved fluidly and didn't seem concerned with the lack of magic she produced. The masters too, treated her strangely. They would answer her questions, adjust her form when necessary, but never made any moves towards getting her to properly use magic. What made him the most curious though, was her relationship with the Ancient One.

Unlike the other students or even himself, she had no qualms about approaching her or speaking freely. He'd overheard her once commenting about how terrible the food selection was right to her face, but the Ancient One was as calm as ever and explained a few things before offering her use of the kitchen. In fact, the Ancient One seemed more curious and amused by the woman than anything. It made him curious about the woman who was so easily able to catch her interest.

He didn't see anything really special about her. Outwardly, anyway. Her short-cropped hair made her look more masculine than most women, but it worked for her and helped add to her strong appearance. She obviously worked out or did some form of martial arts or exercise because while lean and muscular it was not in a way that put him off. It bothered him though. What would cause a woman to train that intensely? What had she gone through to have the need to appear as strong as she could?

But it wasn't any of his business and he would have settled for not knowing much about her if it hadn't been for the Ancient One.

"Ah, perfect. Stephen could you show Jess to the library?"

Strange blinked in surprise, arms laden with books as he looked to Jess in shock. "What? _Me?_ I'm actually a bit—" He looked back to the Ancient One, but she was gone. "...busy."

"...Ever get the feeling you've just been tricked?" Jess commented, giving him a sideways glance that made him scowl.

Oh, did he ever.

* * *

I almost felt bad for Stephen Strange having to escort me to the library. He obviously wasn't thrilled, but turned and allowed me to trail after him.

"You could just point me in the direction of the library and I'll go," I offered.

"No. She left you to me, so I may as well."

"You said you were busy," I challenged.

"I am."

"Then, just give me directions and if I get lost, I'll just ask someone else."

"No, because _then_ she'll find out I didn't help you and I have enough trouble with her already."

I smirked, unable to help but want to tease him a bit. "Oh. So you're the class clown then?"

"I'm not—" He cut himself short when he saw my amusement and rolled his eyes. "The library is just up ahead. It won't be far so I'll just show you."

I chuckled, knowing I'd already managed to ruffle the feathers of the student the Ancient One had claimed I'd get along with. Not that I was purposely trying to cause trouble, but he was making it too easy.

"So, Strange, right?" I confirmed, getting a small frown for my attempt at small talk. "The Ancient One said you were a doctor."

"Neurosurgeon, actually," he corrected.

_Ooh, he's like Tony. A bit arrogant… Well, more than a bit, really_. I pointed at my chest. "Ex-lawyer, current business owner and… well, babysitter of a group of overpowered idiots."

He raised a brow, but I wasn't about to give him much more than that. As it was, I'd told the Ancient One far too much. Discussing my abilities was always a hard subject, but she relaxed me enough to talk like we were old friends. I wasn't about to make the same mistake with Strange.

We'd arrived at the library and I glanced around curiously. No library I'd ever been in had their books chained up.

"They afraid the books are going to run away?" I quipped, moving past the desk in the front and running a finger over the titles.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Strange asked, getting a bit blunter now that he was understanding how I worked. "You're not studying the mystic arts. You're not even trying."

I hummed, pulling down a book on classical Sanskrit and flipping through the pages. "Curiosity mostly. I was caught out in the storm and the door locked me in. The Ancient One was willing to let me stay until it passed, offering me information in return for information about myself. Said I was interesting." I shrugged as he started looking at his own book he'd unchained.

"Interesting? She knew everything about me when I walked in."

"Not me," I mused, missing his surprised look. "Had no idea who I was or how I got in."

"Impossible," he murmured under his breath before I spotted something nearby and headed for it.

It was a necklace of some sort, but it had _feeling_ to it. Like the Mind Stone and the Tesseract. It called me over, cooing at me almost and I picked it up curiously.

"What's this?" I asked Strange, who was quick to rush over and take it from me. "Oi!"

"_This_ is the Eve of Agamotto, a mystic relic."

"Ooh, mysterious," I drawled with a roll of my eyes as he took it and slid it over his neck. "Uh, are you qualified to play with mystic relics?"

"Wong's not here," he shrugged, moving to his book and reading it. "'First, open the Eye of Agamotto.'"

I eyed him as he moved his hands, a shiver running through my spine as something in the air shifted and I felt the necklace grow excited. Pieces of the necklace shifted before it opened, revealing a green gem not unlike that of the Mind Stone, which put me immediately on edge. _No wonder they felt similar. That's another Infinity Stone. Oh, this is not good. _If I knew anything about the Infinity Stones, it was that tampering with their power was very much _not_ good.

"Strange, I don't think you should be messing with that," I muttered, not entirely frantic both to keep him from knowing I knew what that gem was and because of the gem itself.

It didn't hate me like the Mind Stone, nor was it curious about me like the Tesseract. It felt… warm, accepting, inviting and excited almost. Like it knew what I was, as the Tesseract did, but it was thrilled to be anywhere near me. It wasn't threatening like the Mind Stone, and that is probably what unnerved me about it the most—just how willing I was to accept it and watch Strange as he twisted his hands, forming green rings up his arm.

"I just want to try a few things," Strange said, ignoring my concern, aiming his hand at the partially eaten apple from before.

I was stunned as with a rotation of his arm, the apple was finished to the core and then made whole again. He tested this a few times, just as intrigued as I was.

"Are you… manipulating time?" I questioned as he put the apple aside and moved his book forward, turning to where some pages were torn out before using his newfound abilities to return the pages to the book.

"Dormammu, the dark dimension," Strange read from the book as I came up beside him to read the pages for myself.

"Hold on, does this say using the power of the dark dimension could potentially offer eternal life?"

He blinked in surprise. "You're fluent in Sanskrit?"

"I've had business relations in Afghanistan," I explained quickly, eyes scanning the pages. "Knowing an older language with basis in their religion and current languages really helps in translating and dealing with politics." I tapped the page before us. "Strange, this doesn't sound good. If someone wanted to, they could—"

A crystal wall started to form in front of us before someone shouted from behind and it disappeared.

"Stop!" An Asian man glared as Master Mordo stepped forward angrily.

"Tampering with continuum probabilities is forbidden," he snarled. "Much less in front of someone not of the arts!"

"Rude," I grumbled.

"I-I was just doing exactly what it said in the book!" Strange argued with him, not seeing how what he'd just learned could be wrong.

"What did the book say about the dangers of performing that ritual?" Wong—I'm assuming—snapped angrily.

"I don't know. I hadn't gotten to that part yet," Strange grumbled, but I had.

"Temporal manipulations can cause branches in time," I replied, giving the two men a look as they stared at me in shock. "Paradoxes, unstable dimension openings, time loops. Like 'Back to the Future' gone wrong." I scratched at my jaw as they gave me odd looks. "I like sci-fi. So what?"

Mordo though was still angry. "You want to get stuck reliving the same moment over, and over, forever, or never having existed at all?"

"They really should put the warnings before that stuff," Strange complained.

"Always read the whole thing and the fine print," I lightly chided him, gesturing to myself when he raised a brow, reminding him. "Ex-lawyer."

"Your curiosity could have gotten you killed," Wong snapped. "You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were wrecking it. We do not tamper with natural law. We defend it."

Mordo though paused. "How did you learn to do that? Where did you learn the litany of spells required to even understand it?"

Strange shrugged. "I've got a photographic memory. It's how I got my M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time."

"Oh, nice," I complimented. "I've got edictic memory. Doesn't last forever but got me through law school and an engineering degree."

He hummed in appreciation before Mordo cut in, not thrilled about our lack of concern for what had just occurred.

"What you just did takes more than a good memory. You were born for the mystic arts."

Strange wasn't convinced, lifting a quivering hand. "And yet, my hands still shake."

"For now, yes."

"Not forever?" He pressed adventure I began to understand what he was doing here.

_A neurosurgeon with ruined hands is useless. He came here to change that somehow. They… promised him he could and he's not getting the results. I don't know who I should feel more worried for. Him or them…_

"When do you start telling me what we are?" Strange snapped, having lost his patience and Wong gave me a glance before leading us both back to the stand that had held the necklace.

"While heroes like the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers—"

I coughed, having not expected to hear about the Avengers _here_ of all places.

"—we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats. The Ancient One is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme, going back thousands of years to the father of the mystic arts, the mighty Agamotto. The same sorcerer who created the eye you so recklessly borrowed. Agamotto built 3 Sanctums in places of power, where great cities now stand," Wong explained, pointing out three doors around us. "That door leads to the Hong Kong Sanctum, that door to the New York Sanctum. That one, to the London Sanctum. Together, the Sanctums generate a protective shield around our world."

I glanced at the hologram-like image of the world he was showing us. _Wonder if they could have helped with that mess in New York. Loki used a type of magic, but I wonder if they're different or can't be used against each other…_ I had an itch to learn more about the mystic arts, but it was quickly pushed to the back of my mind as the two masters continued.

"The sanctums protect the world, and we sorcerers protect the Sanctums."

"From what?" Strange questioned.

"Other-dimensional beings that threaten our universe."

"Like Earth doesn't have enough trouble," I muttered under my breath as Strange frowned.

"Like Dormammu?"

"Where did you learn that name?" Mordo questioned with a hint of unease.

"I just read it in The Book of Cagliostro. Why?"

"Dormammu dwells in the Dark Dimension, beyond time," Wong explained. "He is the cosmic conquerer, the destroyer of worlds. A being of infinite power and endless hunger, on a quest to invade every universe and bring all worlds into his Dark Dimension. And he hungers for Earth most of all."

"The pages that Kaecilius stole."

_Okay, bit lost now. Don't know who Kaecilius is, but if he broke the rules, stole pages about a dark dimension and isn't anyone at this school, then he must be bad news. Rogue student?_

"A ritual to contact Dormammu and draw power from the Dark Dimension."

"Uh, okay. Okay. I… time-out. I… I came here to heal my hands, not to fight in some mystical war," Strange argued before a bell chimed in the room, drawing our gazes to the ceiling.

"London."

We turned to the door to the London Sanctum as it opened and a man tried to run through only to get stabbed in the back by a cloudy looking spear from the group behind him.

"Kaecilius!" Mordo shouted in shock before I felt something in me stir at the sight of the magic Kaecilius held over his head and I threw myself at Strange, who was closest to the door.

"No!"

"Look out!"

An explosion went off, knocking us both off our feet and through a door. It took a second to pick ourselves up, shaking off rubble as we tried to figure out what had just happened.

"You okay?" I asked him, getting up and looking around at the large staircase in the room before us.

"What _was_ that?" Strange questioned. "Where are we? What about Wong and Mordo?"

"You know, for a doctor, you sure don't use your head much, so you?" I complained, moving to the door ahead and opening it for him to look out and see for himself. "That Kaecilius guy blasted us through the door to one of the other sanctums. Judging by the lack of Chinese, and the fact that he was attacking the London Sanctum, we were knocked into—"

"New York," he murmured, spinning around and rushing back in to look around.

"There's just one problem," I said, following him up the stairs and through a collection of artifacts of a sort. "He just killed the guy in the London Sanctum and launched an attack where we were. He's attempting to take out the sanctums. This one might have already fallen with how quiet it is. Strange, this really isn't good."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" He questioned, obviously tense.

"I… I don't know. My best chance at fighting is back in Nepal and neither of us are really experts at what we are capable of. Hell, I just learned about this magic stuff a few days ago! I don't know how well I can hold up against it."

Strange frowned, making to undoubtedly ask what I meant, but we both went dead silent at some noise coming from the entrance. We cautiously moved behind a pillar to look down and find Kaecilius and his group facing a single master before the stairs. _He's not going to stand a chance against three. Would trying to help now change anything or just get us both hurt? _I grit my teeth, resisting a groan of frustration.

I wasn't prepared for any of this. I was supposed to be on vacation, for God's sake! My suit was back in Nepal and while I _could_ summon it here, it wouldn't make it in time. Fights tend to not last more than a few minutes and I'd really rather not use it if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I was pretty sure Tony would get a notice if I did, and the last thing I needed was him rushing down here too.

_No. That's my choice then. I can't let Tony get involved. __**I**__ don't even want to be involved, but I'm not about to abandon Strange. He has no idea how to handle this sort of situation, and I do. As much as he'll hate it, I've got to keep him safe before all else. _

"Stop!"

I jolted out of my thoughts, resisting a curse. The master had been stabbed and Strange had jumped out in a last vain attempt to save the man, therefore exposing us as well. _So much for a quiet getaway,_ I mentally grumbled, flexing my hand and allowing some of the heat to roll through me in preparation.

While I hadn't been in Nepal for long, the Ancient One verbally banned me from using my suppressants and had started giving me tips for potentially controlling my heat better. Meaning, that I was well prepared for just about the worst possible scenario in this mess Strange was about to get us dragged into. _Just have to avoid getting stabbed in the heart… manageable but definitely not favorable. _

"How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mister…?" Kaecilius hummed from the bottom of the stairs and—much like Tony—Strange sighed.

"Doctor."

"Mister Doctor?"

"It's Strange," he corrected, getting misunderstood once more.

"Maybe. Who am I to judge?"

_Now is __**really **__not the time to deal with introductions._ I grimaced through, as Kaecilius finished off the master and Strange began to conjure up a string of magic. Kaecilius stunned me for a moment as he effortlessly ran up the side of the wall towards us, kicking Strange in the chest as I tried to deal with the man's two underlings without giving away my abilities just yet. _Underlings aren't worth it. I need to save it for a surprise attack or defense with the boss. _

"Duck!" Strange shouted and I did so as he threw a bust at one of the men I was fighting only to have to use his magic whip to knock away a cloudy spear Kaecilius threw towards him.

_We need to get out of here. We're outnumbered and Kaecilius may outmatch us as well. _"Strange! We can't stay!"

He took off running with me right behind him, but again, their mystic arts surprised me by manipulating the space we were in and leaving us running in place.

"Oh, this is _definitely _not a fair fight," I complained as we stopped and Strange attempted to arm himself with magic once more, but one hand flickered out. "Remind me again which one of us is going to be more useful in this situation?"

He groaned. "Your sarcasm is _not_ helpful!"

Kaecilius jumped up onto the ceiling—reminding me of a far better wall climber in Queens—and two of his underlings rushed at us along the walls.

"We can't keep fighting three on one," I grunted out, side having been kicked as Strange was slammed against a wall and thrown down the hall.

I groaned, landing a solid kick to one of them and moving for Strange only for the hallway to twist. His head was bashed through a window and I hastily grabbed the nearest lamp attached to the wall, determined to have _some_ stability as Kaecilius spun it around. _Ugh, I'm going to get motion sick. _

"Strange! Grab hold of something!" I shouted as our enemy tipped the hall upward.

Strange saw a chance then and I grinned when he let go of his hold and slammed into one of the underlings—sending them crashing through a glass door into a desert. _Perfect! Get them in there and change the location and we'll be able to drop their numbers!_ The hall was righted and Strange reached to turn the knob needed to trap one minion while I hastily grabbed the leg of the other who'd tried to attack him.

It took a bit of doing, but I was able to twist his leg, ducking under him and get enough momentum to chuck him into the jungle door and lock him out as well. _Now, one left and he won't be easy! _I quickly ducked in front of the incoming Kaecilius, blocking his swinging arms with mine.

"Run, Strange!" I hollered, ducking under the cloudy blades and rushing after him.

Kaecilius got between us though, making me jump back away from a blade as he went after Strange. Said man used his magic as best he could before grabbing a glowing goblet.

"Hah!"

Kaecilius paused for a moment. "You don't know how to use that, do you?"

"Uh…" Strange threw it at him and continued to use his magic until Kaecilius kicked him into a display case.

I jumped into his path then, having no magic weapon or defense, but managing to hold my own with what training Natasha had drilled into me and what I was able to pick up off the ground. Needless to say, the wooden table leg wasn't much help and I cringed when the clouded blade managed to snap it in half and leave a nice deep gash in my left forearm. Then, of course, he used that momentary distraction to kick me through another display case holding some floating red cape.

Strange was knocked over to me as well and Kaecilius went to slice into him, only for the cape to grab his arm the same time I made to get between the blade and Strange. We both blinked at the cape before Kaecilius slammed an elbow into my nose to knock me back, grabbing Strange and trying again only to be thwarted by the cape a second time.

Strange was thrown across the ground and I rushed for him as Kaecilius made to stab him. We both grabbed his arm, preventing him from doing so, but he kicked Strange over a railing.

"Strange!" I shouted, barely catching a flash of red rushing after him before white-hot pain seared through my right arm.

I stumbled back, reaching for my arm only to find it gone from the elbow down. My eyes went wide as blood dripped into the wooden floors, mind stuttering for a moment as Strange floated up from below.

"Jess!" He bellowed in shock, making another magic whip and using it to grab Kaecilius' blade.

Kaecilius was stronger though, pulling him over only for the cape to once again save Strange from being impaled by pulling him out of the way in the nick of time. Strange went to grab a nearby set of axes, but the cape prevented him from doing so as Kaecilius stalked over.

Thing was, he'd managed to thoroughly piss me off and I hadn't taken my suppressants in a few days. So, when he tried to swing at Strange, it was _his_ turn to be surprised when his blade lodged into my regrown right arm that burned like smoldering coals.

"How did you…"

My eyes glowed brightly as I smirked. "You're not the only ones with special abilities." My smile dropped into a snark. "And cutting off my arm _really _pissed me off."

I swung a fist into the side of his face, jerking the blade from his hand and easily breaking it once I'd pulled it out of my arm and snapped my nose back into place after he'd broken it with his elbow. I breathed out a hot breath of steam and then rushed at him, giving him a run for his money now that he wasn't sure what damage he could do to stop me.

His blade didn't hurt anymore with the adrenaline and quick healing my body was capable of now that I'd let loose. Any cuts he made healed almost instantly with a bit of steam, whereas he was being forced to go on the defensive to avoid being burnt by my flying fists and kicks. I was beginning to get a bit pumped up at finally having him retreating, but Strange threw something at him when I knocked him close, bringing the fight to a close.

Kaecilius was soon wrapped in metal, unable to move anything but his mouth behind a gag as I clicked my tongue.

"And I was finally able to go all out," I grumbled as Strange gave me a look.

"How are you able to—"

"Later," I stopped him, knowing better than to give anything away in front of an enemy.

"You'll die here," Kaecilius said when Strange removed his gag.

"Oh, stop it."

He muttered something else I missed as Strange complained once more.

"I said stop it!"

"You cannot stop this, Mr. Doctor.

"Why… Look, I don't even know what _'this'_ is."

"And I know less than he does," I muttered, flexing my burning red hand as I tried to focus on cooling off now that the fight was over. "I've only known about the mystic arts a few days."

"It's the end and the beginning. The many becoming the few, becoming the One."

Strange and I gave each other annoyed looks before he waved the metal gag. "Look, if you're not going to start making sense, I'm just going to have to put this thing back on."

"Tell me, Mr. Doctor."

"All right, look. My name is Dr. Stephen Strange," Strange corrected as I snorted.

"You are a doctor?"

"Yes."

"A scientist. You understand the laws of nature. All things age. All things die. In the end, our sun burns out, our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension… it's a place beyond time."

"That's it. I'm putting this thing back on," Strange said, making for him as he scrambled to convince Strange of something I personally found laughable.

"This world doesn't have to die, Doctor. This world can take its rightful place among so many others, as part of the One. The great and beautiful One. And we can all live forever."

"Really? What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?"

"The same as you. The same as everyone. Life. Eternal life. People think in terms of good and evil, but really, time is the true enemy of us all. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?"

"Tiny, momentary specks within an indifferent universe."

I scoffed, finally cooled off and eyes returning to their bright blue. "That's what makes humans human. People die and it's because of that, that we're able to grow, able to enjoy life. Living forever would be dull. You'd do all there is to do and then what? Immortality is overrated."

"No. You don't see, but he does." Kaecilius looked to Strange. "You see what we're doing? The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal, for a world beyond time, because time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult. Death is an insult. Doctor…We don't seek to rule this world. We seek to save it, to hand it over to Dormammu, who is the intent of all evolution, the Why of all existence."

"The Sorcerer Supreme defends existence," Strange argued as I sighed, knowing there'd be no convincing Kaecilius his ideals were wrong.

_With Strange though, there's a chance. Just not here. Any argument I give, Kaecilius will ignore or throw dirt on it. I'm better off waiting for them to finish this mess before trying to convince him._

"What was it that brought you to Kamar-Taj, Doctor? Was it enlightenment? Power? You came to be healed, as did we all. Kamar-Taj is a place that collects broken things. We all come with the promise of being healed, but instead, the Ancient One gives us parlor tricks. The real magic she keeps for herself. Have you ever wondered how she managed to live this long?"

"I… I saw the rituals in the book of Cagliostro."

"So, you know. The ritual gives me the power to overthrow the Ancient One and tear her Sanctums down, to let the Dark Dimension in. Because what the Ancient One hoards, Dormammu gives freely: life, everlasting. He is not the destroyer of worlds, Doctor, he is the savior of worlds."

"No. I mean, come on. Look at your face. Dormammu made you a murderer. Just how good can his kingdom be?" Strange paused when Kaecilius started to chuckle, making me frown.

It was never good when the enemy was laughing.

"You think that's funny?"

"No. No, Doctor. What's funny is that you've lost your sling ring."

Our eyes widened at the same time and we turned just as a clouded spear flew forward at Strange. I cursed, grabbing him and pulling him out of the way, trying to will my heat to return just as the blade pierced through my right shoulder. I cursed, sagging slightly against Strange before I was grabbed and thrown down the stairs.

Strange was soon tumbling after me, in far worse shape with a wound in his chest. I pushed myself up, leaning against the wall for only a moment, knowing we needed to leave now more than ever. I grabbed Strange, heaving him up as blood splattered on the ground and my vision blurred for a moment from the pain.

_Don't think about it. You can't think about it or you won't make it. You have to get Strange safe. You can heal. You just need a moment of concentration. __**He**__ needs help. _The underling who'd come through the portal was coming down after us and I cursed when I looked back to find him with a new blade. _I can't risk fighting and wasting more time, but what choice do I have?_

I grit my teeth, ready to try and make it quick, but I ended up not having to as the red cloak around Strange flew forward and grabbed the man, bashing him into various objects and giving us a chance. I reached down and grabbed the sling ring that fell off the enemy's hand, holding it out to Strange.

"S-Strange. You have to make a portal. I don't know how to use the mystic arts. W-We need somewhere where you can get help."

He put the sling ring on, leaning his weight on me and making me grimace at the pain it sent through me as he opened up a wobbly portal. We stumbled through and I winced.

"Close it. S-So they can't follow."

He managed to do so, but I could tell he was fading fast as we stepped out of the hospital storage room.

"Uh, sir? Can I help you?" A doctor asked and Strange cut me off before I could answer.

"Doctor Palmer, where is she?"

"Sir, we need to get you—"

"Where is she!" He snapped, making me have to steady the both of us when he dropped more weight onto my injured shoulder.

"Nurses station," the woman gave in and Strange turned us around and I walked us there.

"Christine!" He called out and another woman rushed over in shock as we both faltered.

"Stephen? Oh, my God. What—"

"We need to get me on an operation table now. Just you. Now! I don't have any time!" Strange shouted and she gave me a look before getting us into the nearest room where I deposited Strange onto the metal table.

"What happened?"

"Stabbed," I grunted out, making for the supply cabinet to grab supplies for both our wounds.

"Cardiac tamponade," Strange grumbled, being more specific about his injury.

"What are you wearing? And who is she?" Christine asked and I groaned.

"_Really_ not the time. He _is_ dying."

"The chest cavity is clear," she said after pulling open his robes and tapping on his chest.

"The blood… is in the pericardial sac," Strange slurred, eyes slipping shut.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Stephen! Stephen!" Christine shouted, quickly hooking him up to a heart monitor and prepping a syringe.

"C-Can I help?" I asked, trying to work up my heat to try and heal, but it was refusing to cooperate.

I had only just been able to heat up enough to stop the bleeding.

Christine clenched her jaw shut but shook her head. "I have to drain the blood from the pericardial sac or it will cause him to go into cardiac arrest. There's nothing you can do."

I nodded, sagging a bit and using the counter to sink to the floor as my vision shifted slightly.

"Are you all right?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder as she began to position the needle over Strange's chest.

"Better than him," I muttered. "Blood loss mostly. It may have nicked my scapula, but I'll be fine."

I blinked hard, shaking my head and bringing a quivering hand up to it, missing Christine's look.

"You're going into shock. There's a bag of saline on that drip stand. Can you find your vein?"

I nodded, getting up and blinking hard against the spots in my vision as I went over to prep the saline drip and get myself on it. I nearly missed my artery though, when Christine screamed. Strange hovered over his own body and I thought I may have been hallucinating, but Christine's own panic assured me I wasn't.

"Please be careful with the needle," Strange warned her.

"Stephen? W-W-What am I seeing?"

"My astral body."

"Handy," I murmured, getting the IV in and leaning against the counter. "Mind you, he's still dying."

"Right, right," she breathed out, moving back into place. "Yeah, all right. Okay."

Strange helped her out before glancing at me. "Are you all right, Jess? You're pale."

I nodded, lightly waving him off. "Fine. I'm fine. I've stopped the bleeding a-and I don't think it hit anything major. Just shock."

"I've never seen a wound like this," Christine muttered. "What were you two stabbed with?"

"I don't know," Strange replied. "Jess?"

I went to shrug but winced. "S-Sorry. My best bet is some sliver of another dimension? I don't… know how true that is. Astral sword? My head's sort of fuzzy."

"You should sit," Strange said and I hummed, sinking down into a rolling chair nearby as Christine finished up and Strange sank back into his body with a groan.

"Are you okay?" Christine asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah." He looked at me. "Good thing we closed the portal, eh?"

I shot him a tired look. "Yeah, you owe me for this, you know. If my boyfriend finds out, we're going to have a _lot_ more trouble on our hands."

"Boyfriend?"

I groaned. "Add it to the list of things I need to explain when the situation's a little less dire. I'm going to take a nap, so you two have fun and wake me up when we're ready."

_God this whole thing **definitely** ruined my vacation._


	30. Chapter 30

**This is the end of "Doctor Strange." I'm surprised it only lasted two chapters, but they're longer than usual and I started partway through the movie. Mind you, there ARE some timeline changes here! I'm placing "Spider-Man: Homecoming" during the same time as "Doctor Strange." it gives Tony something to distract himself from Jess for a bit and for the ending of this chapter to happen ;)**

**And I will probably be updating more on other stuff after this week. The holidays mean I'm working five days a week all overnight shifts, so time to focus on writing stuff is limited. Sorry about that!**

**But please enjoy and let me know what you think. I'm pretty sure I broke Jess at the end there. Her mind sort of short-circuited with what happened, haha :D**

* * *

"Jess. Jess!"

I wearily opened my eyes, seeing Strange hovering over me in slight concern that I hadn't expected from him.

"Are we leaving?" I questioned, pushing myself up slowly and allowing Christine to take out my IV.

"After we get your wound stitched."

I shook my head, waving him off. "It's fine. I cauterized it. Just need it bandaged."

"Cauterized it?" Christine questioned and I sighed as she grabbed bandages.

"It's really a long story," I mumbled as Strange took my seat and turned away so I could pull off the right side of my robes for Christine.

She sucked in a surprised gasp at my scars, from the jagged whip marks to far older ones from my father. I didn't react, used to the surprise others expressed when seeing what I'd gone through, and it only reminded me how grateful I was for Tony, who didn't mind them. _I'll definitely have a lot to explain when I get back and I owe him a lot. _

"What… Sorry," Christine apologized, starting to bandage me up. "I shouldn't pry."

"It's fine... My father was abusive," I hummed, finally starting to come to terms with my past with Tony's help. "The big ones are from the trouble I've gotten into. I… heal easier now, so they don't leave scars as often."

"I'm… sorry. About your father."

"He was a piece of work, but he's gone. My boyfriend has been helping me move past it," I hummed, beginning to miss Tony and his quips.

_Damn, and it's only been a few days. Since when am I so needy?_

"You must really like him," she commented with a hint of sadness.

_Probably because she likes Strange… _"He has his moments, but yeah. I owe him a lot."

She finished and I stood, inhaling deeply and letting it out, feeling better already. _Now, if only it were over. I don't __**have**__ to help, but I'd feel terrible if I left now. This is a threat to the world too, and—technically—I'm an Avenger. _I ran a hand through my hair and headed over to haul Strange to his feet.

"Shall we?" I hummed, earning a look from him.

His mind had been trailing after the same thoughts as mine. "You don't have to come. You don't even use the mystic arts. This isn't your responsibility."

"Believe it or not, it very much is," I grumbled, before cracking a smirk. "I've got more experience than you in this aspect, so don't you think I'm about to ditch you to deal with this alone."

"Are you always this stubborn?" He complained as we stepped out and back into the hall with Christine behind us. "Your boyfriend has his work cut out for him."

I snorted. "Trust me, I'm usually keeping _him_ out of trouble. This is a first for me."

"Where are you going?" Christine asked us then. "Just tell me the truth."

Strange and I exchanged glances before he gave in. "Well, a powerful sorcerer, who gave himself over to an ancient entity who can bend the very laws of physics, tried very hard to kill us, but we left him chained up in Greenwich Village, and the quickest way back there is through a dimensional gateway that I opened up in the mop closet. That I now have to reopen."

She blinked. "Okay. Don't tell me. Fine."

He sighed but stood on his own as we entered the storage room and with a bit of magic, he reopened the portal. I stepped through first, cautiously searching for the man we'd escaped from and seeing no signs. It gave Strange a chance to say goodbye and when he came up beside me, he began the questions—his red cloak back over his shoulders.

"So, explain. You lost an arm and grew it back, and the kind of training that you have isn't normal. Who are you, Jess? Really?"

"Well, I'm something a _bit_ more surprising than your little magic problem. I'm actually surprised you haven't guessed it yet. But basically—"

I was cut off by a familiar voice shouting at us from across the room.

"Strange! Jess! You're okay!" Mordo said in relief.

"A relative term, but yeah. We're okay," Strange said, and Mordo eyed him in surprise.

"The Cloak of Levitation. It came to you."

Strange glanced at the cloak, not seeing why it was a big deal until the Ancient One stepped in.

"No minor feat. It's a fickle thing," she complimented.

"He escaped," Strange informed them, glancing at the metal bindings we'd left Kaecilius in.

"Kaecilius?"

"Yeah. He can fold space and matter at will."

"He folds matter outside the mirror dimension? In the real world?" The Ancient One said in shock, letting me know that what he'd done wasn't supposed to have been possible.

"Yeah."

"How many more?"

"Two. I stranded one in the desert."

"And the other?"

"Escaped with him," I answered. "He might have come after us, but I made sure Strange closed the portal before he could."

"Master Drumm is in the foyer," Strange added solemnly.

"He's been taken back to Kamar-Taj," Mordo replied as the Ancient One began to explain.

"The London Sanctum has fallen. Only New York and Hong Kong remain now to shield us from the Dark Dimension. You defended the New York Sanctum from attack. With its Master gone, it needs another, Master Strange."

"No. It is _Doctor _Strange. Not Master Strange, not Mr. Strange, Doctor Strange," Strange said sharply, and I wisely kept my mouth shut.

This was between him and them. It was his choice to decide what he was going to do, and while I felt he had a sense of justice that would make him a good person to assist in this mess, I could see where he was becoming conflicted.

"When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to do no harm. And I now have the power to kill a man! I'm not doing that. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them."

"You become a doctor to save one life above all others: your own," the Ancient One declared, making him scoff.

"Still seeing through me, are you?"

"I see what I've always seen: your over-inflated ego. You want to go back to the delusion that you can control anything, even death, which no one can control. Not even the great Doctor Stephen Strange."

"Not even Dormammu? He offers immortality."

"It's our fear of death that gives Dormammu life. He feeds off it."

"Like you feed on him? You talk to me about controlling death. Well, I know how you do it. I've seen the missing rituals from The Book of Cagliostro," Strange threatened.

"Measure your next words very carefully, doctor."

"Because you might not like them?"

"Because you may not know of what you speak."

"What is he talking about?" Mordo asked and I shifted uneasily.

Strange was letting his emotions rule his head and I knew better than anyone what that could cause.

"I'm talking about her long life, the source of her immortality. She draws power from the Dark Dimension to stay alive."

"That's not true."

"I've seen the rituals and worked them out. I know how you do it."

"Strange, stop," I finally jumped in, not willing to let this continue. "Let it go."

"She's asking me to fight against the very same power she herself is using, and you don't think that's wrong?"

"I _think _that people have reasons for making poor decisions that go against their morals, and it's not up to you to condemn her before you know her reasons. Right now, there's a bigger problem than a good person making a poor decision. You should just be glad she's on our side for the moment and calm down."

He frowned, but let out a huff, going quiet for now as the Ancient One gave me a grimace of a smile and pat my shoulder briefly, handing me the backpack that I'd left in Nepal.

"Thank you, but you should calm as well, Jess. You're steaming."

I brushed a hand under my nose, which had begun to let out steam, and sniffed. "Sorry. Still working on managing it."

"Once they regroup, the zealots will be back. You'll need reinforcements," the Ancient One murmured, stepping out as Mordo went to confront Strange, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him with a shake of my head.

"Leave it. Infighting is only going to make things worse. If he's right, then I'm sure there's a reason behind it. For now, let's just focus on the problems directly ahead of us."

There was a rumble and we all turned.

"They're back," Mordo murmured, sending us all running for the stairs where Kaecilius was summoning something with his underlings.

"We have to end this. Now!" Mordo shouted and we all hopped the railing and rushed down at the three. Mordo knocked away one underling while I ditched my pack and grabbed the other throwing him across the room with a quick summon of heat that only seemed to cooperate when I was desperate or angry.

"Strange! Get down here and fight!" Mordo shouted and I looked up to see Strange just hovering at the top of the stairs.

_Come on, Strange. Realize what you have to do. That there's no real choice. You help, or the world could be in danger. Christine, the hospital, you. _I grunted as an underling tackled me, slamming me into a pillar just as Kaecilius went to destroy the sanctum. His large orb of power dissipated though, the same moment my stomach flipped and twisted uneasily.

"The mirror dimension," Strange announced. "You can't affect the real world in here. Who's laughing now, asshole."

Kaecilius smirked. "I am."

With a wave of his hands, the entire room shifted and Strange swooped down as Mordo helped me run out with him.

"Well, I've got his sling ring. They can't escape, right?" Strange offered, but Mordo turned.

"Run!"

We took off running again, dodging cars on the road until the reality shifted again.

"Their connection with the dark dimension makes them _more_ powerful in the mirror dimension," Mordo explained. "They can't affect the real world, but they can still kill us. This wasn't cleverness. It was suicide."

"My stomach's about to commit suicide all over the pavement," I groaned out, doubled over and resisting the urge to vomit, only to be tugged forward into a run once more.

Kaecilius was running after us and Strange struggled to get a portal open, only for the world to suddenly tip on its side. We hit a bus before righting ourselves and running up the side of a skyscraper. _Which honestly isn't the best idea because it limits our escape routes, but something's wrong with me in this place. It's like my body is trying to turn itself inside out._ Strange opened another portal, but the ground wobbled underneath us, breaking his concentration and closing it once more as Kaecilius flipped the skyscraper on end, sending us falling towards the ground. We somehow managed to land on our feet as the world tore itself apart and twisted in front of us in a way that made my already aching stomach nearly upturn itself completely.

"This was a mistake," Strange finally realized and I shot him a glare.

"No shit, Sherlock."

The skyscraper flipped, throwing us down into a seemingly never-ending free fall, only for us to slam into a set of railed fire escapes, getting separated. Most were going after Strange and I cursed, fighting to not only catch up to him to help but also keep from falling to my death or getting sick. Kaecilius tacked Strange, pinning him down and pulling out one of his spears, only for me to growl—body heating up as I threw myself down on top of him and Strange was pulled away. Kaecilius jerked, swinging his blade around and nicking my side, but the injury healed with a hiss of steam as I wrapped my arm around his neck in a chokehold and held two super-heated fingers to his jugular.

"Give me a reason," I growled, sweat running down my temple as my stomach made my arms quake slightly.

This mirror dimension was really doing a number on me. The world shifted again though, everything rearranging itself as the Ancient One entered the fight and provided a platform for us all—putting space between Mordo and Strange, and Kaecilius and his men.

"It's true," Mordo murmured in disbelief. "She does draw power from the dark dimension.

I flipped up and over Kaecilius when his minions went after my back, also adding space between us before promptly turning green.

"S-Shit!" I cursed, rushing to the end of the platform and vomiting over the side with a groan. "I-I _so_ fucking hate this place."

"Stephen," the Ancient One called out. "Take Jess and get out of here. Her body isn't capable of being in the mirror dimension for long. She's physically rejecting the dimension."

Stephen hesitated but realized he couldn't make a portal because Kaecilius stole his sling ring, settling for just moving to my side protectively should any of Kaecilius' men take this chance to harm me.

"I came to you broken, lost, in need, trusted you to be my teacher, and you fed me lies," Kaecilius said, pacing as he eyed the Ancient One and drawing our attention to them.

"I tried to protect you."

"From the truth?"

"From yourself."

"I have a new teacher now."

"Dormammu deceives you. You have no idea what he truly is. His eternal life is not paradise, but torment."

"Liar," Kaecilius hissed and he moved forward with his men as I tried to push myself to my feet to help.

Strange kept a hold of my arm though as she fought, very obviously more used to this space than Kaecilius and having the upper hand even with it being three on one.

"We need to help," I muttered.

"Help?" Strange questioned in disbelief. "With _that_?"

The Ancient One knocked all three back without effort and I hesitated for a moment. Strange had a point. I was basically useless in this dimension and while we also had him and Mordo, it was apparent what neither had the skills to be very helpful in this situation. We were more likely to get in the way. It didn't stop the hint of unease that stirred in my stomach—or was I going to vomit again? Then, my fears were confirmed when Kaecilius attacked her once more, killing his own underling to get a shot in on the Ancient One. I spotted the portal before the others, jerking my arm out of Strange's grip as Kaecilius kicked the Ancient one through the portal hundreds of feet in the air over New York.

I hated the feeling of free-falling after her but jabbed at my wrist. _Come on, come on!_ Metal wrapped around me and a familiar helmet covered my face.

"Friday, tell Tony, and I'm turning your voice into that of a child!"

"_Tetchy,_" the AI complained, having more sass than Jarvis, but willingly shutting down the alert system before my suit could alert Tony it was being used.

I caught the Ancient One and cringed when I crashed through a glass skylight. My knees buckled when I hit the ground, startling passersby as Strange and Mordo hurried over in shock.

"Surprise," I grumbled at their stunned looks. "Hospital?"

"T-This way," Strange replied, leading the way as I removed the blue Iron Man suit the moment the coast was clear. "_You're_ Iron Man?"

I groaned, willingly handing the Ancient One over to the nurses with a stretcher in front of the hospital. "I'm _dating_ Iron Man, and trust me, it's not easy."

* * *

Strange couldn't believe this woman. The person who'd been his teacher, given him a reason to live was floating her astral body away from him and stopping on the edge of the hospital roof while her body was dying on the operating table.

"You have to return to your body now. You don't have time," Strange tried to get her to understand.

"Time is relative. Your body hasn't even hit the floor yet," she countered as streaks of lightning stretched across the sky. "I've spent so many years peering through time, looking at this exact moment, but I can't see past it. I've prevented countless, terrible futures. And after each one, there's always another and they all lead here, but never further."

"You think this is where you die," Strange concluded.

"You wonder what I see in your future?"

"No."

She smiled at him and he bowed his head, knowing she could see right through him.

"Yes," he corrected.

"I never saw your future, only its possibilities. You have such a capacity for goodness. You always excelled, but not because you craved success but because of your fear of failure."

"That's what made me a great doctor."

"It's precisely what kept you _from_ greatness. Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the simplest and most significant lesson of all."

"Which is?"

"It's not about you," she said, looking back to the sky. "When you first came to me, how I was able to heal Jonathan Pangborn. I didn't. He channels dimensional energy directly into his own body."

"He uses magic to walk?"

"Constantly. He had a choice. To return to his own life or to serve something greater than himself."

"So, I could have my hands back again?" Strange asked hopefully. "My old life?"

"You could. And the world would be all the lesser for it." She shot him a look. "It's a shame Jess wasn't around for long before this happened. She might have taught you what you needed to know better than I could."

Strange scoffed. "She doesn't even _use_ the mystic arts."

"No, but she's suffered just as much, if not more than you have."

Strange frowned. "She said you couldn't see her past."

"I can't, but I've gotten to know her. We shared tea quite often. Surely, you questioned our relationship."

"Well…"

The Ancient One cracked a smirk. "She is a powerful woman, but very, very broken. It is only recently that she's begun to fill those cracks in, and only with the help of another."

"What about her future?"

"Unknown, even to me. It's possible that my meeting her may be the reason why I can't see past this point. She is… wrong in the sense that she does not belong here. As you saw, the mirror dimension rejects her quite violently. She is someone that not even the strongest psychic would be able to understand because her very presence is one that has no actual place in this world."

"She's… not from this universe? Is that what you're saying? That's impossible."

"Improbable, perhaps, but very much possible. Just as a being like Dormammu is capable of existing and we are able to pass between dimensions using the mirror and dark dimensions. She may have just slipped through a crack," she shrugged. "Either way, she is capable of things no one will foresee. But she knows something you don't. She understands that no one person is at the center of it all, even with her capabilities." The Ancient One chuckled. "And she does her very best to ensure others understand this as well, which is why I pushed her in your direction."

"Gee, thanks," Strange grumbled as her smile faltered.

"I've hated drawing power from the dark dimension, but as you well know, sometimes one must break the rules in order to serve the greater good."

"Mordo won't see it that way," Strange informed her.

"Mordo's soul is rigid and unmovable, forged by the fires of his youth. He needs your flexibility just as you need his strength, and together, you'll need Jess's guidance. Only together do you stand a chance of stopping Dormammu."

"I'm not ready," Strange admitted.

"No one ever is. We don't get to choose our time." She took his hand. "Death is what gives life meaning. To know your days are numbers, your time is short."

Strange scoffed. "Jess said something like that earlier."

"She would. She understands that more than most people." She went quiet for a second. "You'd think after all this time, I'd be ready, but look at me. Stretching one moment out into a thousand… just so that I can watch the snow."

She let go of Strange's hand and when he went to look over, she was gone.

* * *

I glanced up to the sky, standing outside the hospital, unable to stay in there for long after the multitude of times I'd experienced terrible things within them. Rain splatter across the pavement in front of me and I felt as though someone had placed a hand on my shoulder, but I knew there was no one there.

_Watch over him for me._

"I'll do my best… until this is over, anyway," I murmured, knowing I had my own childish idiot I had to go back to. "And he won't be pleased."

"Ready?" Strange called out then, making me turn with a hum, seeing the forced mask of indifference plastered onto his face.

We stepped back inside, and he led me to the storage room where he'd had us come in the first time, pausing before he opened a portal.

"She mentioned you."

"Only good things, I hope," I replied, trying not to dwell in the passing of someone I'd lost just yet.

_I'll have my chance, but right now, it has to wait._

"She said you weren't from this world," he clarified, making me wince.

"So, people keep telling me," I muttered, holding my hands up in surrender. "And I have no idea what that means other than my being a bit more unpredictable to those who can see the future. I'm just as confused about it as you are."

He eyed me for a moment. "And you're dating Iron Man?"

I snorted. "You want the long and the short of it? Sure. I'm dating Tony Stark and have been for years. Used to be his lawyer, then business partner, and now I'm an Avenger. Or, babysitter _of_ the Avengers."

"And the whole arm thing?"

"Business rival was testing out an explosive form of cell regeneration. _Literally_ explosive, mind you and he thought taking me hostage and doping me up with it would piss Tony off. It did, but we beat him, and Tony helped me make it more manageable and less 'walking grenade.' Doesn't always cooperate, but it worked out when he chopped my arm off. That was definitely new."

"How are you so calm by this?" He accused, frowning and I let my humor fall.

"I spent probably the first third of my life with an abusive father trying the kill me every day, only to have to fight to get the job I wanted despite partial blindness in one eye and being a woman from that kind of background. Then, I end up finally finding someone who accepts me for who I am, but he's a walking trouble magnet superhero with an ego the size of a dwarf planet. So, life or death situations have started to become a bit commonplace for me. Aliens falling out of the sky, killer machines, enhanced people who can turn into giants or move things with their minds. I hate to say it, but other than your mystic magic skills, I've got the most experience between you and Mordo and a damn conscious that refuses to let me walk away from this sort of shit."

Strange was quiet for a moment before cracking a hint of a smile. "Glad to have you aboard."

"Don't get snarky with me. I get enough of that from Tony," I drawled with a roll of my eyes as he opened up the portal to where Mordo was waiting for us. "Besides, she told me to take care of you… Can't just ignore that."

"…Thank you," he muttered, stepping through with me on his heels and giving Mordo the bad news. "She's dead."

"You were right," Mordo murmured, defeated. "She wasn't who I thought she was."

"She was complicated."

"Complicated?" Mordo lifted his arms in a shrug. "The dark dimension is volatile, dangerous. What if it overtook her? She taught us it was forbidden while she drew on its power to steal centuries of life."

"She did what she thought was right," Strange defended.

"The bill comes due, don't you see? Her transgressions led the zealots to Dormammu. Kaecilius was her fault! And here we are in the consequence of her deception. A world on fire."

"Are you done?" I questioned, a bit miffed with Mordo and his way of thinking at the moment. "Seriously, I've dealt with a lot of adults who act like children, but you take the cake."

"Excuse me?"

"Kaecilius is his _own_ fault. No one can control the actions of another, and she did only what she thought was best for him. If he didn't see it that way, it's nobody's fault but his. And you know what?" I stepped towards him, eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Yes, she was your teacher and teachers _lie_ to protect their students. It's just what they do because they don't want their students making the same mistakes they did. That's all it was, a mistake, and she knew that and regretted it every second."

"You don't know _anything_."

"Really? You think you're the only one who's been hurt by someone you trusted with your life? I trusted my father for the first ten years of my life and then he was trying to kill me every day. This? This is _nothing._ This is someone who made a mistake, regretted it, and wanted to ensure that those under her protection didn't do the same. Then, some idiot decided that—like you—he was upset about it and chose to play with the dark dimension just to spite her. Is that what you want? Yes, she hurt you but _God_. Is that really all she did? She helped you when you needed it most. Took you in, taught you what she knew. You are a better person because of her and now you want to just turn your back on her because she didn't want to hurt you?"

Strange grabbed my shoulder, pulling his hand back with a wince and shaking it off, but letting me know I was getting a little heated—in more ways than one. So, as I cooled down, he spoke with the conflicted Mordo.

"The London Sanctum has fallen, Mordo. The New York one has been attacked twice. You know where they're going next."

"Hong Kong," Mordo responded.

"You told me once to fight like my life depended on it because one day it might. Well, today is that day. I cannot defeat them alone."

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" I huffed under my breath.

Strange rolled his eyes and opened up a portal to the Hong Kong Sanctum, where we hurried through only to find absolute chaos.

"The sanctum's already fallen," Strange murmured as people rushed past and we looked up at the dark violet clouds that were beginning to take over.

"The dark dimension. Dormammu is coming."

"Yeah, well, we've got others coming too," I informed them, spotting Kaecilius and his group heading towards us.

"It's too late. Nothing can stop him," Mordo breathed out and I shot Strange a look.

"Can't you do something?" I asked, gesturing to him. "Turn back time with your magic?"

"We're not supposed to mess with the natural laws!" Mordo argued.

"Yeah? Well, tell me this, smart guy. If we don't, what's to stop the _world_ from falling into the dark dimension? Is that what you want? Because right now, that's our choice. Let the world fall or break a rule to save it."

"She's right," Strange said, making the hand signs he needed to start as Kaecilius noticed and rushed forward to stop him.

I stepped between him and the man and grabbing Kaecilius' arm—stopping the clouded blade from touching Strange as he finished his spell. Then, I felt a sort of tugging sensation and blinked as I was locked out of the spell and able to watch as Strange made all the destruction flow in reverse.

"The spell's working. We've got a second chance!" Strange replied as we hurried past Kaecilius, but I saw his image twist and split.

"Don't get too hopeful! Kaecilius is breaking out of the spell!"

Strange dodged a flying bit of metal with the help of his cape before I jumped forward—grabbing Kaecilius' leg that he'd tried to kick Strange with.

"Forget about me?" I questioned, my suit wrapping around me once more with a hint of steam as my heat began to flow through me and I threw Kaecilius away.

"Thanks," Strange said and I hummed, dodging around a yellow barrel that flew past to return to its place.

I grabbed Strange as well, helping him out and snapping my arm up to stop another swing from Kaecilius. "You're really starting to get annoying."

"What _are_ you?"

"Get with the times, old man. I'm an Avenger."

I slammed him to the ground only to have to let him go in order to duck around a car flying back to its place. It was almost scary to watch whole buildings put themselves back together and people who'd died get put back in place before their death. Dust began to cloud everything, and I sighed.

"Friday use heat signatures until the dust clears."

"_Of course._"

I spotted Kaecilius before Strange even had the chance to realize he was in danger and I groaned, grabbing the man by the throat from behind and pinning him to a wall as it was repairing itself.

"Stay _put_ and stop being stupid. You're not going to win against me."

"Wong!" Strange called out, said man having been impaled and buried under rubble during his fight with Kaecilius before we'd shown up.

Now, he was whole once more and blinking in surprise when Strange pulled him out of the spell as well.

"Breaking the laws of nature, I know." Strange rolled his eyes as Wong looked back to where he'd been impaled.

"Well, don't stop now." Wong looked to me then and I flipped open my helmet.

"Hey."

"Nice suit."

"Yeah, it's a bonus for dating Iron Man."

"When the sanctum's restored, they'll attack it again," Strange informed us as the sanctum at the center of the area began to reform. "We've got to defend it. Come on."

We rushed forward, only to turn when Kaecilius pulled himself from the wall and slammed a fist into the ground, throwing waves towards us and knocking Strange down. I lucked out, having been able to hover over the waves, and I helped pull Strange to his feet.

"Come on, Strange. This isn't over yet."

His spell had been broken, leaving the world around us paused as the others got to their feet as well and Kaecilius approached.

"You can't fight the inevitable. Isn't it beautiful?" Kaecilius looked up at the dark dimension. "A world beyond time. Beyond death."

I glanced back, hearing Friday in my ear.

"_I can't get any readings on this, boss. It's unscannable to my sensors._"

"Yeah, well, it's not a part of this dimension," I muttered under my breath, eyeing the darkened sky above with a furrow of my brows.

Strange suddenly took off towards the dimension, stunning Mordo and me.

"He's gone," Kaecilius hummed. "Even Strange has left you and surrendered to his power."

"No, that's not what this is," I murmured from beside Mordo, drawing his attention to me. "He has a plan. I could go after him, but leaving you two here with them—"

"We'll be fine. Go."

"I might not be of much help to him. I'm sort of out of my element here."

Mordo shook his head. "If you're right… If he has a plan, then it's best not to leave him alone. You're the only one who can go after him. Go."

I sighed. "Let's just hope I don't reject this dimension as bad as the mirror one."

I jumped up, flipping my helmet back down and flying up after Strange. The dark dimension was definitely odd. There were molecules the size of small planets floating around and gaseous clouds everywhere. Friday actually flickered out once I was far enough in. And when I spotted Strange, I landed on a planet just out of sight. I didn't want to interfere in what he had planned unless needed. I saw him use the Infinity Stone for something before a huge eye appeared and he stepped forward to face a monstrous figure.

"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

_Bargain with what, you idiot!_ I mentally complained, glancing between him and the giant as it smirked.

"You've come to die. Your world is now my world, like all worlds."

Spears of rock flew at Strange and I was tempted to rush in and help as he dodged and deflected them, but that damn stone. I could sense it from here, telling me to trust him and so I grit my teeth and stayed ducked behind the rock I was on. Then, he was blasted by a ray from Dormammu only for his shield to falter and him to get evaporated.

"No," I breathed out, shocked and feeling my heart fall at knowing I was here and could have saved him but didn't based on some feeling from a rock.

Dormammu's gaze shifted to where I was hidden, but I was stunned to see Strange fly down again, unarmed. It was as if what happened hadn't occurred as he repeated.

"Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

Dormammu began to repeat his own previous words. "You've come to die. Your world is now my… What is this? Illusion?"

"No, this is real."

"Good."

Strange was impaled by spears only to appear again. "Dormammu, I've come to bargain."

"You've… What is happening?"

_A question for us all. Is he… in a time loop?_ I wondered.

"Just as you gave Kaecilius powers from your dimension, I've brought a little power from mine. This is time. Endless looped time," Strange said, holding up his arm where green spell circles spun around.

_Oh, you cheeky son of a bitch. _I shook my head with a small smirk, only for it to fall. _But that means…_

Strange was crushed before reappearing.

"You cannot do this forever," Dormammu growled.

"Actually, I can. This is how things are now. You and me, trapped in this moment endlessly."

"Then you will spend eternity dying."

"Yes, but everyone on earth will live."

"But you will suffer."

"Pain's an old friend."

_Goddammit. It's like Tony all over again. Self-sacrificing bastards, but there's nothing I can do here. Strange only put himself in the time loop. I go down there, and I could die. I can't stop this. I can only be here to witness it._ My heart ached as I watched Strange die again and again and again. Dormammu was getting more and more frustrated and while I knew that's what Strange's end goal was, it still hurt to see him dying like that. _He won't sleep well ever again, will he?_ I mused, wincing and turning away for a moment as Dormammu roared and knocked him down.

"You will never win," he growled.

"No, but I can lose again and again and again and again forever. And that makes you my prisoner."

"No! Stop! Make this stop! Set me free!"

"No. I've come to bargain," Strange said once more, and finally Dormammu got the hint.

"What do you want?"

"Take your zealots from the Earth. End your assault on my world. Never come back. Do it, and I'll break the loop."

Dormammu begrudgingly agreed and I flew out from my hiding place, coming up beside Strange and hitting him hard upside the head.

"Ow!" He complained, eyes going wide as he saw who it was. "Jess?"

"You and I are going to have a talk about this."

"You're not my mother," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, trust me. At this point, I'm _everyone's_ mother." I huffed. "Honestly, I just can't catch a break with you lot."

We started to leave the dimension and Strange gave me a look.

"How long were you…"

"The whole time," I muttered, shooting him a glare. "And you owe me for the amount of stress I just went through watching you do something so stupid like that."

He winced. "You didn't _have_ to come after me."

"Like I was going to let you run off on your own," I grumbled.

"You could have. I would have been fine."

"And alone," I pressed, shooting him a look before turning away. "I was worried, you moron."

He went quiet for a moment before muttering a response. "Thank you."

"We're friends, aren't we?" I grinned, nudging him a bit. "You're not going to get rid of me that easy."

We landed behind Kaecilius and his group, making him turn.

"What have you done?"

"I made a bargain."

"What is this?" Kaecilius asked as his body began to crackle.

"Well, it's uh, it's everything you ever wanted. Eternal life as part of the one. You're not gonna like it."

The group twisted and jerked into black, charred creatures before flying up into the dark dimension.

"Yeah, you know, you really should have stolen the whole book because the warnings… the warnings come after the spells," Strange joked, and Wong burst into laughter, stunning us all.

"That's funny."

"Remind me to get you a book of puns for your birthday," I mused and Strange shook his head before finishing off the spell, returning the Hong Kong Sanctum and life back to normal.

"We did it," Wong hummed, pleased as we started for the sanctum, but Mordo didn't look pleased.

"Yes. Yes, we did it by also violating the natural law.

"Look around you. It's over," Strange pressed.

"You still think there will be no consequences, Strange? No price to pay? We broke our rules just like her. The bill comes due. Always! A reckoning."

"Rules are made because of mistakes," I pressed, removing my suit and eyeing him. "Somebody does something and society says they don't want it to happen again, so they make a rule to prevent it. They're generalized because nobody can predict something like this happening, where there may need to be an exception to the rule. And sure, maybe something will happen because of what we did today, but for the moment, we saved the Earth from being taken over by the dark dimension in the only way possible. And, sure, maybe there was a different way, but unless you can tell me what that way was, I don't see how we can't be happy we succeeded right now at this moment. And we'll handle the bill when it gets here."

Mordo frowned, conflicted, before shaking his head. "I can follow this path no longer. I'm sorry."

He turned and disappeared into the crowd as I squeezed Strange's shoulder.

"It's his choice, and it's not like we didn't try."

He grunted in confirmation as we headed into the Hong Kong Sanctum.

* * *

I yawned, stretching my arms over my head and wearing my old clothes and _not_ the drab grey robes I'd been given to wear in the sanctum in Nepal. It'd only been a few days since what happened, but we'd all needed rest and to get our injuries treated. I was planning on leaving to return to my vacation now that all the craziness had subsided but wanted to bid the others a farewell even though Strange and Wong had offered to let me stay in the sanctum while I was in Nepal. I'd followed the feeling of the Infinity Stone—knowing Strange had yet to take it off and it would lead me right to him—only to find him lightly placing it back on its stand.

"Wise choice," Wong said. "You'll wear the Eye of Agamotto once you've mastered its powers. Until then, best not to walk the streets wearing an Infinity Stone."

"So, you _do_ know what it is?" I hummed, wandering in behind him and earning a small nod.

"A what?" Strange questioned.

"You might have a gift for the mystic arts, but you still have much to learn," Wong sighed as I leaned over and gave the necklace a fond touch with my finger, making it open briefly and close.

"How did you—"

"I've got a sort of… connection with the Infinity Stones," I replied, shrugging at their probing gazes. "Trust me, I don't understand it either."

"So, you've seen others?" Wong asked.

"Two others. One sent back to the planet it came from before it touched Earth and the other… well, that's a bit complicated, but it's as safe as it can get, I suppose. Neither were really pleasant, so I'll miss this one."

"You can… talk to them?"

"I can _feel_ them," I corrected. "One stone was curious about me, the other rejected my very existence and hated me. This one is actually fond, which is new. Not pleased to be stuck back on its pedestal, but it had fun."

"You just get stranger and stranger," Wong murmured with a shake of his head, before looking up at the globe above us. "Word of the Ancient One's death will spread through the multiverse. Earth has no sorcerer supreme to defend it. We must be ready."

"We'll be ready," Strange confirmed and Wong opened the door to the New York Sanctum, disappearing into it as Strange gave me a look.

"You coming?"

"I've got a trip up Everest," I shrugged. "Since you're in New York though, feel free to drop me a call sometime. We can have tea."

He snorted at that—tea drinking being something we'd both gotten used to with the Ancient One. "I thought you lived in California."

"Blown up. Between Tony and Avengers and all that, New York is getting more familiar by the day. I'm pretty sure we've moved in. Now, go on." I waved him off. "Go have fun doing magic, Harry Potter. I've got a mountain to walk up in shorts."

"Actually," he stopped me, making me turn with a raised brow. "I've got a meeting with someone you might know in the next couple of days. Mind dropping in?"

"How many days?"

"Eh, a week?"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be there, so long as Tony doesn't find out."

"Thanks, Jess."

"Yeah, shut up, Stephen," I snickered, walking out with a wave over my shoulder as he disappeared through the door.

* * *

"So, Earth has wizards now, huh?"

"Tea?" Strange offered and Thor lifted his cup with a small grimace.

"I don't drink tea."

"What do you drink?"

"Here," Jess sighed, switching out Thor's teacup with a large mug of beer.

Thor beamed. "You know me so well, Jess."

Jess rolled her eyes, sipping the tea she'd taken. "Don't butter me up just for a spar, Thor. You _know_ Tony isn't supposed to know I'm here."

"Just a short one? No one will have to know."

"_No_," she pressed as Strange tried to get them back on task.

"So, I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world. And your adopted brother, Loki, is one of those beings."

"Worthy inclusion," Thor mused, finishing off his beer only for the glass to refill itself, much to his surprise.

_Looks like someone else is buttering someone up,_ Jess mused shaking her head subtly as Strange continued.

"Yeah, so why bring him here to New York?"

"It's a bit of a long story. Family drama, that kind of thing, but we're looking for my father."

Jess turned with a frown. "Odin?"

Thor nodded.

"So, if you found Odin, you'd all return to Asgard promptly?" Strange pressed.

"Oh, yes. Promptly."

"Great," Strange smiled, getting up. "Allow me to help you."

"Jess, will you be—"

"Oh, no. Nope. I wasn't even supposed to be here. He still thinks I'm on the plane over to New York, and I'm supposed to meet him at the New Avengers Facility in…" Jess checked her watch. "…an hour. There's some big announcement he's making that requires my being there on time and in my current condition. _Not_ banged up from getting into some fight with you, Thor."

The demi-god pouted childishly in an attempt to persuade her differently, but she waved him off.

"And no amount of pouting or begging is going to get me mixed in with your insanity. My vacation was already interrupted two days in, thanks to Strange."

"I already said that wasn't my fault."

"Doesn't mean you don't still owe me. Regrowing an arm is _not_ fun."

Thor's eyes widened, but she held up a hand, stopping him with a glare.

"Not a word. You want details? Ask the magician."

"I told you to stop calling me that," Strange complained.

"I'll think about it," she replied cheekily, stepping out. "By Stephen, Thor."

"Farewell, Miss Jess!" Thor beamed, as Strange sighed.

He'd been desperately hoping she'd stick around to help him with the oversized, demi-god child, but apparently, he was still not convincing her right. He'd have to work on that. It wouldn't do for him to be the only one being helped.

"So, shall we?"

* * *

I sighed, looking over my notes for the big announcement with slight concern. "You sure about this, Tony?"

"What? You're having second thoughts?"

"You know the kid better than I do. I'm just saying, with all the trouble we get into as Avengers? This goes beyond just his aunt finding out. He'll be hounded at school, bullied even. Then, there's the actual fighting and how his aunt will handle knowing he might not come back one day."

"Jesus, Jess. I thought your vacation was supposed to lighten you up, not make you even more complicated," Tony complained, brows furrowed. "What's going on?"

_Should I tell him? What happened with the sanctums and stuff?_ I mentally grimaced. _No, best save that for later._ "All I'm saying is that he _is _still a kid. There's more here than just learning responsibility."

"And we'll help him through it. Put on some training wheels just like we did with Wanda."

"Wanda was at least level-headed and _somewhat _mature," I muttered as Tony hugged my shoulders with an arm.

"Just trust me. Besides, it's still his choice. He hasn't said yes yet."

I shot Tony a look. "Oh, yeah. Dangle fame and fortune in front of a teen and have him _not_ take it? Please. I can see it on your face. You're convinced he'll accept—hence the press conference in the other room, which only _proves_ he's not ready."

"Jess, please?" He murmured and I sighed, relaxing somewhat.

"Yes, yes. His choice. Got it."

Tony smiled before spotting Peter and Happy. "Oh, there they are. How was the ride up?"

"Good," Happy nodded.

"Give me a minute with the kid."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I've gotta talk to the kid."

Happy looked to me and I gave him a "what can you do" look.

"I'll be close behind," Happy compromised.

"How about a loose follow, all right? Boundaries are good."

"Sorry, Happy," I muttered as we started to walk away, Tony giving Peter a fond pat on the shoulder and tucking him under his arm.

"Sorry I took your suit. I mean, you had it coming and if Jess were around for that whole thing, she would have confiscated it earlier."

"Oi," I grumbled, earning a teasing grin from Tony and a sheepish smile from Peter.

I'd already been informed as to the mess they'd gotten into during my absence and while displeased about the danger Peter was placed in, I knew a part of it was my fault. _Damn company isn't doing what they're supposed to, allowing those men to get their hands on things and over what? Some idiot higher up the chain not compensating them properly? I come back from a vacation to find out I've got a whole tier of people to fire and replace for negligence… or at least un-promote them with a pay cut until they get their shit together. Firing for one mistake—despite it being a __**huge**__ mistake—might cause more problems… Maybe fire them but offer a job replacement?_

Tony bumped into me, drawing me out of my thoughts as he continued speaking with Peter.

"Actually, as it turns out, it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

"I guess?"

"Let's just say it was," Tony chirped, silence passing over us briefly as I started to see what was going on.

"Mr. Stark, I really…" Peter started with a heavy sigh before Tony cut him off.

"You screwed the pooch hard, big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies."

"Tony," I chided.

"All right. Not my best analogy. I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team."

"To the… To the team?" Peter said hopefully and I resisted the sigh—my own hope being dashed by the sudden lack of regret.

"Yeah. Anyway, there's about fifty reporters behind that door," Tony pointed out. "Real ones, not bloggers. When you're ready—" He tapped his watch, bringing up a new spider-man suit from below. "Why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man."

"I, uh…"

"Yeah, give that a look," Tony hummed. "So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your new room, your new quarters. Where's he between? H-He's next to Vision?"

"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors," Happy warned.

"It's fun."

"Or walls."

"You'll fit right in," Tony mused, though I could see the hesitation on Peter's face.

"Not that you have to," I said quietly, looking at my tablet, but drawing his gaze as I peered up. "Become and Avenger, that is."

"Jess, we talked about this," Tony whined.

"Yeah. You said his choice, but you have to understand. That means him knowing the good and the bad of the job. The responsibilities, the press, the public, the danger. All of it. It's not just happy fun times in a spandex suit."

"They're not spandex. Really," Tony reassured. "Tears too easily. Rides up in all the wrong places."

Peter turned, facing him. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. But I… I'm good."

"You're good? How are you good? If this is because of Jess—"

"No. Well, I mean, I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's gotta look out for the little guy, right?"

Tony took off his sunglasses. "You turning me down? You better think about this. Look at that." Tony gestured to the suit and Peter looked. "Look at me. Last chance. Yes or no?"

Without hesitation, Peter looked back at him. "No."

"Okay," Tony agreed simply, surprising us. "It's kind of a Springsteen-y working-class hero vibe that I dig. Well, and Jess would kill me if I tried to force you."

I rolled my eyes goodnaturedly, nodding to Happy. "Happy will take you back."

"Yeah. Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute," Happy asked Peter, who turned to Tony and shook his hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"Yes, Mr. Parker, very well."

"See you around and um, thank you, Jess."

I gave Peter a small smile as I took his offered hand as well. "Sure thing."

"Hold on, you call her by her first name and I still get Mr. Stark?" Tony whined, but Peter started off and Tony wrinkled his nose before putting the suit away.

Peter though, paused. "That was a test, right? There's, uh, nobody back there?"

I glanced at Tony, wondering what he'd say as he tried not to let on.

"Yes, you passed. All right. Skedaddle there, young buck."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. Thank you."

"Yeah, thank you," he replied as Peter left and Happy faced us both.

"Told you he was a good kid," Happy grinned as I shrugged.

"I barely know him, so my opinion is mute. We've just got one more problem."

Pepper stepped through the door behind us where the reporters were eagerly awaiting our announcement, still looking good with her large baby bump.

"Where's the kid?"

"He left," Happy informed her.

"Everybody's waiting."

"He actually made a really mature choice. Just surprised the heck out of us," Tony argued, trying to keep her calm as I instructed upon finding out he'd dragged her here for this announcement despite her being heavily pregnant.

"Did you guys just screw this up?" She snapped and Tony pointed at Happy.

"He told the kid to go wait in the car."

Happy scrambled to argue, not finding the words as Pepper stalked forward.

"Are you kidding me? I have a room full of people waiting in there for some big announcement. What am I going to tell them?"

"I'll think of something," I reassured her. "Make something up. There was a, uh, weird thing in Hong Kong recently that I can explain wasn't the Avenger's fault or some shit."

"I've got something better," Tony grinned. "Hap, you still got that ring?"

"Do I… I…" Happy scrambled to check his pockets as Tony shot him a look.

"The engagement ring. Are you kidding?"

"Engagement ring for what?" I questioned suspiciously as Happy complained.

"I've been carrying this since 2010." He pulled out a simple silver ring with a black ring running through it.

"I can't think of anything better than that," Pepper smirked, understanding something I wasn't as Tony smiled as well.

"Well, it would buy us a little time."

"More time, if she still hasn't gotten it yet," Pepper teased, making me frown.

"Gotten what? What's an engagement ring have to do with…"

It clicked then, making my eyes widen as I looked to the ring and back to Pepper.

"No."

"Mm-hm."

I looked back to the ring as Tony took it. "Y-You're joking, right? Is this because I didn't bring you back a souvenir? Because I swear, I had one but there was a bit of a problem hiking Everest and—"

"Are you going to make me kneel?" He asked with a teasing raised brow as I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Y-You're not joking?"

"Nope. A hundred percent serious, and that's something, coming from me."

"B-But he said 2010."

"Something about that night up in an oversized doughnut just sings to me," he hummed, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips as I burnt an even darker red.

"I'm getting engaged in front of fifty reporters?" I breathed out.

"Well, you're getting engaged right now. We're just going to put on a show for those morons. That okay with you?"

"I-I, um… I-I don't really know."

"You don't want to get married? I can hold off."

"No!" I shouted, making his eyes widen as I realized I'd yelled, growing ever darker up to my ears.

He, of course, smirked like the cat who'd caught the canary. "What was that? I don't think they heard you in the next room."

I smacked his arm, dropping my forehead onto his shoulder as he chuckled. "Ass."

"And you're marrying this ass, need I remind you." He smiled, kissing me when I pulled back.

"When's the wedding?"

"Whenever you want."

"Small."

"Of course."

"And I don't mean like, a thousand people small. Avengers small."

He wrinkled his nose. "Just them?"

"And Pepper, Happy, Rhodes, and Peter, I suppose. Close friends?"

"All right."

"No reporters," I said sternly.

"Oh, but you know it'll be a good story. We could make some money off it."

"Like we don't have enough?" I scoffed and he sighed, kissing me again.

"All right. For you. No reporters." He held up the ring with a cheeky grin and I eyed it with a small frown.

"What's it made of?"

"Oh, you know. Black diamond center and a bit of, uh… vibranium?"

"Tony!" I chided.

"Oh, so sue the guy who wanted something special for the love of his life, why don't you?"

"Oh, you're such an egotistical dick!" I chuckled, finally starting to feel giddy about the whole thing now that it was sinking in.

"But I'm _your_—"

Pepper cut him off as she cleared her throat. "As much as I'm enjoying the show…" She nodded to the doors. "Mind holding it out there?"

I managed to somewhat pull myself together, but as we stepped out into the flashing lights of the reporter's cameras one thought was still going through my head. _M-My God… I think I… I-I just got engaged!_


	31. Chapter 31

**This is the beginning of _"Avengers: Infinity War" _and I will post all of it at once since I don't know when I'll get around to getting the next movie up. I really need to update some of my other stories... But I hope you enjoy! It will bounce back and forth in the last two chapters (ch32 and 33) for this movie since the movie does the same by bouncing back and forth between space and Earth battles. **

**But please, _please_ let me know what you think! It's nice to hear feedback about this and I made some nice changes in this movie too. Jess is going to have it rough the next movie, that's for sure.**

* * *

_The Hulk was thrown away so easily, getting sent to safety by chance after Thor was grabbed and his mind burned. Loki tricked and joked, only for his neck to end up snapped by large hands. Thor was bound, Loki dropped lifelessly at his feet as fires began to burn the ship. I felt a lump catch in my throat, choking me as I witnessed this only for the blue Infinity Stone from the Tesseract to flare briefly in a golden glove adorning a giant man's fist. It knew I was there, as did the unknown purple gem that seemed to scoff at my presence indifferently._

_This was it, it seemed to tell me—its presence watching mine curiously as though wondering what my reaction to this destruction would be._

_What do I do? What __**can**__ I do? This alien giant has the power of two Infinity Stones and an army of followers. He easily took down an entire planet of Gods with only one stone, and I'm supposed to be able to stop him?_

_Again, the purple gem scoffed wondering why the others thought so highly of me. The blue stone though seemed to only grow more curious._

_If I had the opportunity to change fate, would I?_

_I grit my teeth, catching glimpses of what was to come as I had in every nightmare since New York._

_People turning to dust._

_Fights being lost._

_Screams and struggles._

_A woman being pushed off a cliff._

_A red cape falling to the ground._

_Stop. Stop it! Why do you keep showing me this like there's something I can do! I practically screamed at the stones, who insisted on pestering me. I'm nothing! I have some lame fire powers I can only just now get control over, and some flashes of future events that I can't even use to prevent things from happening! What is the point of this! Why are you so convinced I can help!_

_Then, I was standing on a dusty junkyard of a planet and my cries died at the sight of a familiar red and gold suited man sitting on the ground. His entire side was fried to a crisp and his hand was still raised as though snapping—like the giant man had in my nightmares, turning everyone to dust. Tony didn't move though. His eyes had gone glassy, his body stiff and cold. He was dying… He was dead._

_You will help, the stone declared as the image turned to dust like so many others. Because you have no other choice._

* * *

My eyes snapped open, breathing quick and uneven and my body covered in a cold sweat. I clenched my eyes shut for a moment, trying to calm down, knowing Tony was still asleep beside me. Slowly, I pushed myself upright, doubling over and resting my face in my hands as I propped my elbows up on my thighs. The nightmare—_vision_—was too real this time. It was unsettling. It put a time limit on things that I didn't understand, and I'd never felt more defeated before I'd even started. _Tony's going to die. Tony's going to die if I don't do anything, but I-I don't even know what to do. I don't know where to start._

An arm wrapped around my waist, making me flinch and mentally curse when I did, knowing I'd alerted Tony that something was wrong.

"Nightmare?" He asked, voice still groggy with sleep.

"Y-Yeah, something like that," I murmured in return, soon wishing I'd chosen my words better as he sat up on his elbow with a curious frown.

"Another vision? Anything I should know about?"

_You're going to die, and it will be all my fault because I can __**do**__ something about it, but don't know how._ I grimaced, turning my head away slightly and he sighed, getting up out of bed and stretching.

"You want coffee? Or that weird tea junk you drink now?"

I shot him a dirty look. "Says the man who drinks green goop."

He smirked. "Don't have to now."

"Not that that stops you," I grumbled in complaint, getting up myself and rubbing at a kink in my neck. "It's fine. I'll get it. You should go back to sleep. It's early."

"And what kind of husband would I be if I left you to deal with whatever you dreamed of alone?" He teased, handing me some of my own clothes and kissing me briefly, brushing a strand of hair off my forehead.

"I still can't believe you proposed before a media announcement."

"Never seemed like the right time, and you know me. Has to be perfect."

I snorted, removing his shirt that I was wearing and getting dressed, ignoring his gaze on me as I did so. "Right, because that was the perfect proposal."

"I could have done more. Made it flashy. New cameras, kneeling, big ol' diamond ring in the middle of Time Square."

I threw his shirt over his head with a glare. "You wouldn't dare."

He chuckled, taking off the shirt and moving to get dressed. "No. You're simple, and I like that. Means I don't have to go out wasting a bunch of money to impress you like other women."

I frowned, brows furrowed. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

He paused, glancing up. "…Good point. Compliment?"

I rolled my eyes, kissing his temple and moving out to the kitchen. "I'll start breakfast."

"You want a run after?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll need one after…" I trailed off, before shaking my head and waving from the door. "I'll get your coffee started too."

Breakfast was a quick affair before we headed out to the park to jog, which Tony was kind enough to fill with his rambling instead of questioning me about what I'd dreamed of.

"Slow down. Slow down and I'll, I'll spell it out for you."

"Do, please, because you've been rambling about this for a while and I am honestly lost," I breathed out, slowing our pace to a walk as I drank from my water bottle.

"Look. You know how you're having a dream, and in the dream, you gotta pee?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. And then you're like, 'Oh, my God. There's no bathrooms. What am I gonna do?' 'Oh, someone's watching.' 'Oh, I'm gonna go in my pants.'"

"Right, then you wake up and have to pee," I finished. "Everyone has those dreams."

"Right, that's the point I'm trying to make."

I rolled my eyes, drinking more.

"Apropos of that, last night, I dreamt we had a kid."

I choked on my water, taking a second to clear my throat and giving him a stunned look. "_W-What_?"

"It was so real," he explained, stopping me and standing before me as I tried to get my brain started up again and he wiped a bit of water from my chin with his thumb. "We named him Morgan. Then, I woke up, thinking that we were…"

"Expecting?" I squeaked.

"Yeah."

"No," I quickly stopped him. "No, no, no. A kid? _Us?_"

"I had a dream about it. It was so real! Maybe I'm getting visions now."

"Don't even joke about that," I chided him. "You… You want a kid?"

He nodded, giving me a look over. "You don't?"

"I…" I swallowed thickly. "I-I honestly don't know. I never thought…"

"Well, come on. Let's talk about it. What's making you hesitate, hm?" He took my hands, eyeing me.

"What, you want a list?" I questioned and he shrugged.

"Well, your therapist says us discussing things is better for both of us and helps you destress while explaining to me what you're thinking."

I raised a brow.

"And… I kind of have no clue what you're thinking. I think it'd be a great idea!"

"Okay, problem number one?" I lightly tugged my hands from his, untying his jacket sleeves from around his neck and tapping the device in the center of his chest. "That."

"I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause it's nothing. It's just a housing unit for nanoparticles."

"Yeah, I know that. What I mean is, you being Iron Man could be a problem. You make enemies and if those enemies find out about this… _Morgan_—"

"Don't like the name? We can choose something else."

"Shush. I just don't want another incident like… like Killian."

Tony's gaze when cold. "I won't let that happen."

"But, we can't predict that, Tony."

"The only reason I'm Iron Man is to protect us and future us's," he pressed.

"And I get that, but… what if this kid ends up like me?"

He frowned. "What? Hot, intelligent, cunningly sarcastic—"

I lifted my hand, allowing heat to go through it and make it glow briefly.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Last thing we need in a walking toddler grenade who can't control their powers."

"I'll look into it. See if it's transferable. Run some tests, that sort of thing. I'm sure it' fine," he waved off but there was one more thing that I was even more hesitant about and he seemed to notice. "What? What is it? There's something else, isn't there?"

"What if… What if I'm not a good parent?"

"Jess."

"You've seen me with Peter."

"And you did great! Helping him with his homework and everything!"

"Tony, I couldn't _help_ him with his homework," I argued, still a bit miffed about it. "I tried, sure, but the way they're teaching math now is so different. I go frustrated and he had to shoo me out!"

"So, I'll help the kid with his math, and you can teach him other stuff. Good cop, bad cop. We can work it out."

"And what if I become like _him_?" I finally blurted out—my real fear spilling before I had a chance to stop it. "What if… What if I fail so much at being a parent that I get frustrated and, and—"

"You're not like him," Tony pressed. "Jess, we've talked about this. You're so much more than he ever was. If anything, you're the splitting image of your mother, who even I know was a saint, and we've never met. But she raised you. She taught you how to be strong and stubborn and intelligent and how to handle everything that comes your way. And you know what? I bet our kid will be exactly the same being raised by you." He kissed me briefly and pulled back with a soft smile. "Okay? So, just think about it. It's not like I need an answer right away."

_But you… You're supposed to…_ I grit my teeth for a second before looking back up to him. "Tony, about that dream I had—"

"Tony Stark, Jess Norris."

We both turned to find Strange standing at an open portal, making my heart sink.

"Oh, no."

"I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me."

Tony glanced at me before looking back to Strange, ensuring he'd wrapped an arm around my waist possessively.

"Oh, uh, congratulations on the wedding, by the way, Jess."

"T-Thanks," I murmured, feeling Tony's hand tighten.

"I'm sorry. You giving out tickets or something? And how do you know Jess?" Tony frowned.

"Yeah, about that vacation I had in Nepal," I started, earning a confused look from Tony as Strange continued.

"We need your help. Look, it's not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is a stake."

"And who's 'we'?"

Bruce stepped out from the portal surprising us both. "Hey, Tony, Jess."

"Bruce."

"But you were supposed to be with…"

Bruce came over and proceeded to hug us both as I felt my heart began to race. _It's starting. Why now? Why does it have to start now? I'm not ready._ Bruce pulled away and Tony looked to me, giving me a concerned once over.

"Jess? What is it? What's wrong?"

Strange and Bruce looked to me as well as I ran a hand through my hair.

"T-That dream I had?"

"Yeah?"

"It was the end of the universe."

* * *

"At the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom. The Big Bang sends six elemental crystals hurtling across the virgin universe," Wong explained, showing a display of the stones. "These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence."

"Space, reality, power, soul, mind, and time," Strange listed off, opening his necklace to reveal the Time Stone.

"Tell me his name again," Tony demanded, eyes flickering back to Jess as she sat on the half-destroyed stairs of the New York Sanctum, wringing her hands.

"Thanos," Bruce replied. "He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York, that's him."

"Why half?"

Their gazes switched to Jess as she looked up, eyes serious.

"What?"

"Why only half a population? Which planets? He has to have a purpose, an end goal. People don't just up and do this without purpose. Figuring that out might be the key to stopping him."

"I didn't exactly have time to talk to the guy, Jess," Bruce complained, not trying to be rude, but more than upset and stressed out at the moment.

As it was, controlling his other self was getting a bit tough at the moment.

"What's our timeline?" Tony asked, drawing attention away from her as he wandered.

"No telling. He has the Power and Space Stones."

"Blue and purple," Jess confirmed, looking to Bruce. "I saw it in my dream last night. You, Thor and Loki…"

"You saw it?" Strange questioned and Jess sighed.

"I've been getting visions ever since touching the Space Stone in the New York attack. I told you, they have some weird affinity with me. They're typically not much, but… this time, I was there. Not physically, but…"

"Like an astral projection," Strange offer in shock and Jess nodded.

"The stones knew. Space is curious enough about me to drop hints, but the Power Stone just scoffed at me… If stones could scoff."

The green stone around Strange's neck flashed a little, earning a scowl from Jess.

"Don't laugh."

Bruce raised a brow. "You can talk to those things?"

"Not… talk. Just understand. Look, I don't get it either, but… I-I don't think Thor and Loki made it."

"What?" Bruce breathed out, having been thrust away before seeing everything that had happened.

"Thanos, he… he's a big purple guy, right?"

Bruce nodded.

"He…" She swallowed thickly. "Snapped Loki's neck, left Thor on the ship as it exploded. I couldn't do anything, even if I wanted to, Brice. I'm sorry."

Strange shook his head. "Don't be. There's little one can do in that form, much less help. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"He's got come gauntlet thing that he's keeping the stones in and… it's got spaces for all the others. He's coming here and… from the other visions… it's not going to be good. I don't get more than flashes, so I don't really understand them or know how they can be helpful."

"You've helped plenty already, Jess. If he gets his hands on all six stones, he could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of," Strange said, making Tony scowl as he leaned on a cauldron and stretched his leg.

"Did you seriously just say, 'hitherto undreamt of'?"

"Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?" Strange challenged, his cape slapping at Tony's leg, making him turn.

"I'm going to allow that," Tony said shortly, eyeing Strange as Jess looked between them uneasily.

She had yet to be privy to Tony's jealousy—other than with Everett, which was pretty tame—though she had a pretty good idea that this was what was going on now.

"If Thanos needs all six, why don't we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?"

"No can do."

"We swore an oath to protect the Time Stone with our lives," Wong pressed.

"And I swore off dairy, but then Ben and Jerry's named a flavor after me. So?"

"Stark Raving Hazelnuts," Strange named.

"Not bad."

"Hm, a bit chalky."

"A Hulk of Burning Fudge is our favorite," Wong added, surprising Bruce.

"That's a thing?"

"Whatever," Tony cut in. "Point is, things change."

"Our oath to protect the Time Stone cannot change," Strange argued with him. "And this stone may be the best chance we have against Thanos."

"Yeah, so conversely, it may also be _his_ best chance against us."

"Well, if we don't do our jobs."

"What is your job, exactly besides making balloon animals."

"Protecting your reality, douchebag."

"All right, I think that's enough," Jess said, stepping between them both and shooting Tony a look. "Really?"

"What? Some weirdo magician pops up out of nowhere, and you just _happen_ to know him from a trip you took to relax? He's even copying me!" Tony complained, rubbing at his goatee as Jess groaned.

"Look, if we had the time, I would explain the whole thing, but right now, we have to figure out where all the other stones are. Can we leave the pissing contest for another time? Please?"

Tony opened his mouth, but she cut him off.

"And before you go questioning anything else—" Jess pressed her lips to his in a heated kiss, taking his breath away in the shockingly forward move coming from her. "Strange is just a friend. Okay? Can you control yourself now?"

"Maybe one more?"

"Please no," Strange complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I may have been a _little_ suspicious when you said you were dating Tony Stark, but I didn't need to see proof."

"Hey, you were winding him up too," Jess complained, before Bruce jumped in, hoping to get them back on track.

"The thing is, we have this stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone and we have to find him, now."

Jess frowned lightly. "Wouldn't it be better to leave them be? We could be leading the enemy straight to them."

"Or they could already be found and have only themselves up against an army," Strange argued.

"Well, there's one more problem," Tony muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Two weeks ago, Vision disappeared. He's in the dark."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Tony, you lost another super-bot?"

"I didn't lose him. He's more than that. He's evolving."

"Who could find Vision then?" Strange asked, and Jess sighed.

"You're not gonna like this."

"Who is it?"

"Probably Steve Rodgers," Tony muttered with a curse.

"Oh, great," Strange sighed.

"Maybe, but…"

"Call him," Bruce pressed, and Jess pulled out her phone.

"I could, but I think it's about time these two made up." She placed the phone in Tony's hand. "I can't deal with another break up like that, Tony. Neither can you."

"What do you mean? Did the Avengers break up? Like a band? Like… Like the Beetles?" Bruce questioned.

"Cap and I fell out hard," Tony explained. "And Jess got caught in the middle of it. We're not on speaking terms."

"Tony, listen to me. Thor's gone. Thanos is coming. It doesn't matter who you're talking to or not."

Tony sighed heavily and Jess nudged him.

"Come on. You know it's time too. I helped you get past that, but I can't apologize for you. That's between you and him."

Tony kissed her forehead with a murmured 'thanks' before stepping aside to call Steve, only to pause. There was rumbling in the distance and Tony looked around before spotting a bit of Strange's hair waving.

"Say, Doc, you wouldn't happen to be moving your hair, would ya?"

"No at the moment, no."

They looked up as Tony passed Jess her phone and they all turned to the doors, aside from her as she made a call.

"Yes, get everyone out of this area as quickly as you can. Do _not_ engage, just get the people out of here and as far away from Bleecker Street as you can. This may be another Code Blue."

"Code Blue?" Strange questioned when she hung up.

"New York's first attack," she explained. "Called it that after the color of the Space Stone that was involved. Once I got my business going, I had everything made should it happen again. Emergency forces know what to do and have run drills to get as many people evacuated as possible and keep casualties to a minimum. But we need to act too. They'll engage if threatened and you know how that goes."

"You prepped an entire city for a second New York attack?"

Jess shot him a look. "Again, I'm a babysitter for the Avengers. It's literally my job."

She and Tony hurried out onto the streets where people were screaming and running away from further in town. He helped someone up as a car crashed into a light post. Bruce hurried to help him as police began to show up and lead people a little better, and Tony put on his glasses.

"Friday, what am I looking at?"

"_Not sure. I'm working on it._"

"Hey, you might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!" Tony called out to Strange as Jess put in an earbud that was quick to expand and prevent it from falling out.

"Anything you can give us, Friday."

"_I'm trying._"

"Might want to use it," Strange argued against hiding his Time Stone, prepping his mystic arts.

They moved out to where people were running from and stared up at the large, wheel-shaped ship that was landing in the street.

"Friday? Alert emergency services and the newscasters. Code Blue. Get people underground and out of the city. Take only vital essentials and have shelters set up in the neighboring small towns. Inform people to get away from the center of this but try to head as far as possible."

"_Yes, Miss._"

"You really think that will work?" Strange muttered.

"It'll be better than if no one did anything, trust me. I've seen what happens otherwise."

"You're prepared."

"Try to be."

He twisted his arms before throwing a shield at the ship, preventing its destruction from getting much closer. Tony cracked a slight smirk, before forcing a scowl.

"And you're friends with this guy?" He joked with Jess, who rolled her eyes.

"You're very similar. Trust me, it wasn't hard."

A beam from the ship brought down two people—one a burly alien creature and another a smaller, thinner one.

"Hear me and rejoice," the thinner one said as the group approached. "You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing to the balance—"

"I'm sorry. Earth is closed today." Tony called out. "You better pack it up and get out of here."

"Stonekeeper," the thinner one addressed Strange, ignoring Tony. "Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

Jess groaned as Tony pointed at the alien offended, looking to her in faux shock.

"Certainly not. I speak for myself," Strange declared, stepping forward and arming himself. "You're trespassing in this city and on this planet."

"He means get lost, Squidward," Tony added, miffed as Wong too armed himself and Jess began to flex her fists as her eyes flared gold.

"He exhausts me. Bring me the stone," the thin one told his companion who stepped forward with a garbled noise and his pickaxe.

"Banner, you want a piece?" Tony asked Bruce, taking a step back.

"Mm, no. Not really, but when do I ever get what I want?" Bruce muttered.

"Sorry," Jess apologized as Bruce tried to bring out the green guy with no success.

"It's been a while," Tony hummed. "It's gonna be good to have you, buddy."

"Okay, sh. Let me just… I need to concentrate here for a second. Come on, come on man. God!"

"Where's your guy?" Tony asked, seeing his struggle as Strange glanced over at Jess in question and she shrugged.

"I don't know. We've sort of been having a thing," Bruce excused.

"It's no time for a thing."

"I know."

"That's the thing right there. Let's go."

Strange looked to Tony and Tony grumbled to Bruce.

"Dude, you're embarrassing me in front of the wizard."

"Tony, I'm sorry. I-I-I can't or he won't."

"It's okay. Hey, stand down. Keep an eye on him. Thank you," Tony said, passing him off to Wong.

Tony stepped forward as the alien charged, yanking on his jacket cords and tapping his chest piece as his Iron Man suit formed around him.

"He thinks he's so cool when he does that," Jess muttered to Strange, who snorted as Tony blocked the alien's blow with a shield and punched him.

The alien charged again, but Tony shot him away towards the thinner one, who just waved the flying beast aside.

"Where'd that come from?" Bruce gaped.

"It's nanotech. You like it?" Tony asked, turning around as Jess sighed.

"Tony."

"A little something I—"

Tony went flying straight up as the thinner alien launched him upward with the ground and threw trees forward at the rest of the group.

"I've told him not to monologue," Jess muttered as Strange dropped Bruce in a park out of the way and Wong blocked the trees.

Strange went to deal with the car now flying at them, but Tony flew down and took care of it himself. The alien easily sliced it in half and Tony looked back to Strange.

"We've gotta get that stone outta here now."

"It stays with me," Strange pressed and Jess stepped in.

"Tony, if he leaves, they'll just follow. Our best bet right now is dealing with them here before the big guy shows up himself. The plan I set up only works for this city. This is our civilian free zone to handle this. Otherwise, who knows who will end up in the way."

"Fine," Tony huffed, rushing forward only to get grabbed and thrown away—to the very same park Bruce was in.

Jess again sighed. "_And_ I told him to think before rushing in. You getting the picture yet, Strange?"

"Babysitter. Yup. Seeing it now. Are you good?"

"Oh, trust me. I'm more than good." She flared up red hot as her own suit formed around her and let out a hiss of steam—burning bright red as well. "I can deal with this stuff _far_ better than your magic man."

"And your powers?"

"Dealt with. Thanks to the Ancient One's advice, I've got more control than ever. You want me to stay, or…"

"You best go after him. Two on one."

"I would, but you've got the prize. And this guy… He's got telekinetic powers and if he's anything like the Avenger girl we had, he'll definitely be a pain."

"Noted."

"We have to find rules. Every power has limits. Might give us a one-up on him."

Strange raised a brow. "Are you babysitting _me_ now?"

Jess cracked a smirk, hidden under her helmet. "Oh, I was babysitting you since we first met, Stephen."

He sighed. "I'm beginning to see how you're dating him now."

"Rude."

The alien we were fighting levitated a bunch of bricks, sharpening them and throwing them at the group, leaving Strange to easily take them into a portal and Wong to shoot them back out. Said alien lifted a car to block it, but Jess smirked when one broke through and sliced into his temple.

"Ooh, he's got a temper," she noted as the alien burst a pipe and thrust Wong away before Strange lassoed him.

Jess intercepted, grabbing the creature's arm and swinging the creature into the ground, only for him to shoot up a part of the ground and launch her upward. Strange looked up in concern, distracting him as the alien threw him into a building and covered him with bricks.

"Your powers are quaint. You must be popular with the children." He reached for the Eye of Agamotto, only to cringe when his palm was burned.

"It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable," Strange informed.

"Then, I'll take it off your corpse."

"Just one problem," Strange hummed, glancing upward and the alien looked up just as Jess slammed down on top of him—yanking Strange out of the building in the process.

"Don't forget about me just yet," Jess growled, landing on the ground where she'd hoped to have landed on top of the alien, but he'd slipped out at the last second.

She went to rush forward as Strange started to use the Time Stone, only for both of them to get wrapped up in metal cables.

"You'll find removing a dead man's spell troublesome," Strange croaked out, grimacing at the line wrapped around his throat.

"You'll only wish you were dead," the alien snapped.

"Strange!" Jess called out, armor creaking before she forced it to go back into her watch, confusing the alien.

"You truly are idiotic to get rid of your only protection."

Jess smirked, despite the lines tightening. "Who said it was my _only_ protection?"

Her eyes flared gold and her skin burned hot, melting the cables before she reached down and grabbed a slate of concrete, chucking it at the alien. He dodged it, turning back to her with a growl of frustration, only to see her back in her armor rushing after Strange—who, while unconscious, had been slipped out of his restraints by his cape. They flew past the giant that Tony was dealing with alongside Peter, who'd shown up at some point, and Jess winced when said kid jumped on the back of her suit.

"Oi, I'm not a taxi service!"

"Mr. Stark told me to get the wizard!"

Jess ducked then as the thinner alien threw a sign at them—Peter not being so lucky.

"Not cool," he grumbled, slinging his web and trying to catch up as the alien brought down street lights to try and stop the runaway cape.

The cape caught on a light and Jess pulled it free as Peter grabbed Strange, only to get caught by a glowing blue light.

"Peter!"

The cape tore itself free from her grip, rushing up after its master as Peter tried to grab a light post. The thinner alien pulled it up, sending him into the beam as well as Jess cursed, rushing for the alien in an attempt to stop him.

"_Uh, Mr. Stark? Jess? I'm being beamed up!_" Peter called over his comms.

"_Hang on, kid! Jess?_"

"Bit busy," Jess ground out between clenched teeth, smashing through another slab of concrete that burst into steam when a water line burst within it and made contact with her hot suit—blocking her vision. "Shit!"

A car slammed into her through the fog, knocking her to the ground and before she could get back up, the concrete was pulled up and over her, burying her under rubble as the alien fled.

"_Jess, you all right? I'm going after them!_"

Jess growled, slowly heaving herself our of melted tar. "I swear, you better save a piece of that guy for me because it's going to take _ages_ to get this tar out of this suit."

"_I'll be sure to send pictures,_" Tony joked, having now gotten into the ship out in space.

"Are _you_ all right? You've added those upgrades I told you about, right? For air circulation and rebreathing?"

"_Yes, mother,_" Tony drawled. "_I'm fine, but I'll have to push our 8:30 res for dinner tonight._"

"And I was so looking forward to another night spent in some posh restaurant," Jess grumbled back, eyeing the blinking dot that was the ship leaving. "And Peter?"

"_I had Friday send him back. And I'll have you know, those reservations were for your favorite Japanese place._"

Jess rolled her eyes. "I'll take care of preparations down here. If Thanos sent his kids to grab the Time Stone, then he probably sent someone after Vision too."

"_Tell Cap, I'm sorry._"

"No. You'll get your sorry ass back down here and tell him yourself," Jess said, trying to joke, but there was just enough of a hint of uncertainty and worry to give her away.

"_I'll de… intely…_"

"_I'm sorry, Miss. The connection was lost,_" Friday informed her, and she grit her teeth, forcing a brave face as she landed in the park where Wong and Bruce were waiting.

"Jess, thank God. Where's Tony?"

"And the Time Stone?" Wong asked as well.

"Tony went after Strange. We'll have to trust them for now."

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked as Wong left to go defend the sanctum and Jess pulled out her phone—helmet slipping off as she held it to her ear.

"You said it yourself," she muttered, giving him a sharp, serious glance. "They've got an army, and I'm making a few calls. We won't make it without our own."


	32. Chapter 32

"Now, hold on. How many calls did you make, exactly?" Bruce questioned as we stepped into the Avengers headquarters.

"Called Steve, Vision, an aunt, a king, and the current secretary of state," Jess rattled off, her hand diving into a bag of Chirps.

"Are those… chips? Since when are you into junk food?"

"Since my fiancé is currently trapped in space with a high schooler trying to save my newest best friend who's a wizard, and we're about to go to war with the biggest, most powerful purple grimace in the universe. I think I'm allowed to binge on an old stress eating habit," she snapped, shoving the bag into his hands as she moved into the meeting room where Rhodes was eyeing her uncertainly. "Besides, they're crickets. Better than chips."

"W-What!" Bruce exclaimed, looking at the bag in shock. "How could you—"

"Don't ask. I seriously don't have time to ramble on about strange eating choices. I've got a meeting in…" She glanced at her watch. "Now."

A holographic image of the Secretary of State along with other men of power appeared and Bruce felt something in him ache at seeing how easily Jess was able to push aside every physical display of stress off her face. Her clenched jaw loosened, the pinch in her forehead relaxed and her back straightened. It was a complete 180 to how she had just been acting as she stuffed her face with cricket-flour chips with a hint of frustrated fury.

"_Still no word from Vision?_" Secretary Ross asked.

"Hello to you too," Jess said shortly. "And I told you when Tony and I allowed you to keep your position as Secretary of State. _I_ deal with the Avengers' whereabouts and provide their location when _they_ agree. I know where they're at and he's safer than he would be anywhere you suggest."

"_With four of the world's most wanted criminals_."

"You know they're only criminals because you've chosen to call them that, right, sir?" Rhodes protested, but Jess held up a hand.

"And he's the only one who considers them such. Or need I remind you, _sir_, the contract we agreed upon. They were pardoned by any and all nations, and are now supported by the Wakandan government, meaning they're untouchable. And I believe you will find I'm not in the mood for dealing with your games right now, so do me a favor and get to the point of this meeting."

"_There was another attack._"

"Obviously, and any and all casualties were out of anyone's hands. I kept the numbers down, as my proposal promised, and my company will be dealing with the damages already. Mind you, this has little to do with the Avengers. These… aliens were simply trying to get their hands on something, and we happened to be nearby. Vision was the only exception to that, and only because he unknowingly had it in his possession."

"_And 'it' would be?_"

"None of your damn business," Jess said shortly. "Trust me, it's already been proven to be too much for the government to handle, so you can expect to remain out of the loop on this one, sir."

"_The president_—"

"Has my number and can contact me personally if he wishes to discuss more. At the moment, we're currently busy preparing for a possible _third_ attack and don't have time for you and your bureaucratic bullshit."

"_A third?_"

"In an area with little to no civilians and out of the U.S.'s jurisdictions. What you _should_ be worried about, is the aftermath of this if we fail."

"_Are you expecting to fail?_"

There was just enough hesitation that Bruce could tell Jess was lying about what she said next.

"No one expects to fail," she said seriously. "But one should always be prepared to. Now, if you'll excuse me. My two o'clock just stepped in."

They turned to see Steve Rodgers step in with Sam, Natasha, Vision, and Wanda.

"Mr. Secretary," Steve greeted, giving Jess a glance as she turned away.

"He was just leaving."

"_Miss Norris—_"

"Leave, _now,_" Jess all but snarled and the man stiffened at her over-the-shoulder glare before turning and nodding to someone, ending the call.

Everything was silent for a moment as those who'd just entered wondered what to make of what they'd just seen. Rhodes thankfully broke the tension by clearing his throat.

"It's great to see you, Cap," he smiled, shaking his hand.

"You too, Rhodey, Jess."

Jess gave a small wave, not turning around as she combed through a file from the desk in front of her.

"Wow, you guys really look like crap," Rhodes commented. "Must've been a rough couple of years."

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five star. At least three, thanks to Jess," Sam nodded to her, but her back was still turned, and an awkwardness enveloped the room once more until Bruce stepped into view.

"Uh, I think you look great," he said sheepishly. "Uh… heh… Yeah, I'm back."

"Hi, Bruce," Natasha greeted.

"Nat."

"This is awkward," Sam murmured as Jess shooed them off, turning around but keeping her eyes glued to the file.

"Vision's room is still open and there's medical supplies in the med bay, as always. Hot water's still running, kitchen's fully stocked. Get comfortable while you still have a chance."

They nodded, all heading off and catching up except Natasha paused, looking at Steve—who'd yet to move. He waved her off and she nodded, stepping out and leaving him with Jess, who remained stubbornly silent—ignoring his presence.

"You okay, Jess?" He asked, knowing the answer, but hoping she'd admit it to him.

"Course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She bit out, still refusing to look at him as she moved to set the file back down.

"Because you haven't looked at anyone since we walked in, and Tony is apparently missing before your wedding."

"The wedding was his idea," she grumbled, hands fisted on the desk as she bowed her head. "Stupid, egotistical moron. What the hell am I supposed to do while he's up there in fucking _space_ dealing with some, some all-powerful alien giant who's probably going to jump right on down here a-a-and—"

"Jess. Jess, deep breaths," Steve said, reaching out for her but hesitating upon remembering how finicky she was about being touched while in the midst of a panic attack.

So, he grit his teeth for a second, pulling his hands back and clenching them into fists, wishing there was something more he could do for her. This was a woman who was fighting to hold it all together and he hated the fact that she felt required to do so in front of him and the team. He called this place home for a reason and, despite their disagreements, they were a sort of family to him. Jess especially so. She'd helped them all in so many ways. He only wished he could do the same.

"You're doing your best, Jess," he urged her as she fought to take a deep breath. "That's all any of us can hope for."

"This isn't going to end well. It won't. I-I've _seen_ it, Steve. T-Those damn stones… They keep saying I can change it, b-but I don't know. I don't know how. I-I don't know where to start. I-I can't even d-deal with him b-being gone f-f-for—"

He couldn't take it anymore. She was physically shaking, tears building up but her own stubbornness refusing to let them fall as her voice shook and her breathing only became more ragged in her panic. He reached forward and pulled her to him tightly, hugging her despite knowing that it may not have been the best thing for someone with her past. But she was hurting, and this was the only way he knew how to help. Surprisingly enough, her arms wrapped around him as well, clinging to his shirt as she finally allowed a small sob to break through.

"I'm sorry this has happened," he said. "I wish I could have been there to help."

She shook her head, pulling away and he let her go as she pawed at her teary face. "It w-would have only separated us more. W-We need to get everyone together. Then…_ maybe_ we stand a chance."

He raised a brow as she tried to pull herself together. "You have a plan?"

"Y-You said I should use my visions to help. Tony…" She winced slightly before continuing. "Tony suggested I start writing them down. I work better with the written word when it comes to breaking it down bit by bit. I had one last night and…" She lifted her phone slightly. "It gave me a few things. I've set things in motion, so we have a minute until they get back to me."

"You'll be okay?" He asked, still uncertain about leaving her in this state to clean himself up.

"For now," she murmured, managing a small smile. "Thanks, Steve."

"You know he'll be all right," he pressed, still seeing some uncertainty in her gaze. "Stark is made of some pretty stern stuff."

"Yeah. I just…" She hesitated before shaking her head. "Never mind. I'll let you all know in the morning. Go. I'm sure you need rest too."

"You should rest too, Jess. You could definitely use it after all this."

"Yeah…" She murmured, and he hated leaving her like this, knowing she wasn't going to sleep much at all.

She and Tony were alike in that way. Overworking themselves to the point of exhaustion in order to avoid dealing with the emotions and stress piling up. He just hoped her earlier words didn't come true. She'd helped keep the Avengers out of trouble thus far, but if this thing turned… If it all went wrong? He feared she would be the first one targeted, and he wasn't sure she could handle that on her own. Without Tony.

* * *

"So, we gotta assume they're coming back, right?"

"And they can clearly find us."

"We need all hands on deck. Where's Clint?"

"Not coming," I responded, drumming my fingers on my arms to ease my fidgeting—though the Big Gulp of Coke didn't help my already fried nerves. "He opted to retire, basically. He's got family to take care of. Same with your Ant friend."

"Who?"

"Scott," Steve replied. "Ant-Man."

"There's an Ant-Man _and_ a Spider-Man?"

I rolled my eyes. "Point is, Thanos is going to bring an army."

"And you know this because of your visions, right?" Bruce tried to confirm, and I nodded, sliding over the printed version of my notes about the vision I'd had that morning.

Parts of it, anyway. I wasn't about to give them personal stuff that I needed to sort through, nor future consequences.

"From the bits and pieces, all I could tell was there weren't just a few aliens, but _thousands_, maybe more. No details, unfortunately, but it was certainly an army."

"The biggest army in the universe," Bruce confirmed from his experience with Thor and Loki.

"And we can trust your visions?" Natasha pressed, not doubting me, per se, but uncertain.

Bruce came to my defense, waving a sheet. "This is exactly what happened when I was up there with Thor and Loki. Not _everything_ that happened, but it's accurate. Safe to say the rest is too. Thanos isn't going to stop until he gets Vision's stone."

"Then, we have to protect it."

"No, we have to destroy it," Vision argued, looking to the group as he leaned against the wall nearby, holding his injured side. "I've been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head. About its nature, but also its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps…" He approached Wanda and understanding dawned on me, making me rub at my brow. "Its molecular integrity could fail."

"Yeah, and you with it."

_She won't do it. There's no way, not unless it was a last resort._ "Even if we managed to destroy it," I cut in before an argument could be started. "He still has the others."

"We don't know if he's collected them all yet," Steve tried.

I shook my head. "He had the Power Stone when Thor, Loki, and Bruce were fighting him. He gained the Space Stone after. He sent minions after the Mind Stone who failed, but the others took Strange with the Time Stone. Not that I don't believe Tony would be unable to stop them, but we have to look at the worst possible scenario. The only reason he didn't show up personally, is because he undoubtedly went after the other two stones."

"And you have a connection to them, much as I do," Vision explained, eyeing me as I gazed back solemnly.

"They… talk to me in a way, sure. The closest ones, anyway," I murmured, wincing when I looked at the golden jewel in his forehead as it flared briefly. "Yours still doesn't like to cooperate, but I can sort of… feel it, if that makes sense. They're gathering. The stones. I wouldn't doubt Thanos already has all the other stones or will by the time he drops in with his army. Even if Wanda _did_ destroy this one, it wouldn't stop him. Not by a long shot."

"But it would make him weaker than if he had all of them."

"Vision," I said shortly, surprising him with my intensity. "Realize what you're asking her to do. It's not easy for anyone to take the life of a loved one. Even when you hate them…" I pursed my lips, glancing away. "And especially when you love them. If it came down to it, she might, but for now, let's leave it as a last resort."

He hesitated, glancing over at Wanda's teary expression before bowing his head in agreement, letting the topic drop.

"However…"

All eyes went back to me as I sighed, rubbing at my face.

"God, I'm not sure it will work, but we could try… I guess?"

"Try what?" Steve pressed, taking a step forward.

"There's a possibility that we could… remove the stone. Vision has a chance of living and we can destroy the stone separately."

"Can we do that?" Natasha asked, hopeful and Bruce stepped up.

"It's possible. Vision's mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together. All of them learning from one another."

"You're saying Vision isn't just the stone?" Wanda asked.

"I'm saying that if we take out the stone there's still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts, but…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't do that. Not me, not here."

"Well, you better find someone and somewhere fast," Rhodes countered. "As much as Jess has power over Secretary Ross, it's Tony who has the biggest pull. With him gone, its going to be a lot harder to deal with him and I doubt he wants to just give you guys your old rooms back."

"Which is why, I've made so many calls," I sighed, leaning back in my seat and tipping my head back.

"The aunt?" Bruce questioned, making my head snap back down.

"What? No! I called the aunt so she wouldn't panic about her kid who's currently up in _space_ fighting with Tony because he just couldn't be bothered to listen to instructions and go home," I grumbled, before shaking it off and standing. "No, no. I called a king."

"A king?"

"More specifically, the _Wakandan_ king," I purred, enjoying the shocked looks on everyone's faces as my phone buzzed and I checked the text. "What better place to get an army, use advanced technology to remove the Mind Stone without harming Vision, _and_ have a war far away from any possible civilian or U.S. government contact?" I waved the phone. "He wants to meet us this afternoon. Who's flying?"

* * *

Tony looked down at where Strange was hovering with numerous icicle-like needles aimed his way. He was struggling to come up with a plan. As much as Strange grated his nerves, he wasn't about to just let the man die and have the stone taken by some alien whoever. And yeah, a part of it was because Jess knew him. Something tapped his shoulder and he whipped around, ready to blow it to pieces only to see Strange's cape holding up its arms(?) in surrender, making him let out a sigh of relief.

"Wow, you are seriously a loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?" He muttered, only to turn as someone else spoke.

"Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty."

"What the…" Tony swore he was going to strangle the kid who landed on the platform in front of him.

"I know what you're gonna say," Peter tried to get out.

"You should not be here."

"I was gonna go home."

"I don't want to hear it," Tony snapped, continuously cutting him off.

"But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you on the way—"

"And now I gotta hear it," Tony complained, rolling his eyes and wishing Jess was here to give Peter a proper scolding.

He was never good at being the bad cop when kids were involved. Gave in too easily.

"—and kinda stuck to the side of the ship. And this suit is ridiculously intuitive, by the way."

"Goddammit," Tony hissed. _Jess is going to be pissed to find out he's still here. I'm just glad __**she'll**__ be the one calling his aunt and not me._

"So, if anything, it's kinda your fault I'm here," Peter argued, making him frown at the boy.

"What did you just say?"

Peter, unable to really offend someone and mean it, quickly doubled back—Strange's coat even looking surprised at the accusation. "I-I take that back. And, and now, I'm here in space."

"Yeah, right where I didn't _want_ you to be," Tony stressed, approaching him so he understood how serious he was. _Trying to be anyway. Taking a note from Jess's book. Don't let them see how relieved you are. I could actually do with his help, but he needs to understand the risks._ "This isn't Coney Island. This isn't a field trip. This is a one-way ticket. You hear me? Don't pretend you thought this through."

"No, I did think this through," Peter tried to explain.

"No, you didn't."

"I _did_ think this through!"

"You could not have possibly thought this through."

"You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood," Peter said, causing a moment of silence before he shook his head. "Okay. That didn't really make sense, but you know what I'm trying to say."

Tony took a deep breath. "Jess is going to kill me," he murmured under his breath before turning. "Fine. Come on. We got a situation, and don't tell Jess. If she finds out I let you help and gave you an active role, we'll _both_ be getting lectures when we get back."

"Right," Peter muttered with a wince, having seen Jess's lecturing first-hand and hating how her disappointment made him feel like the tiniest speck in the universe.

He _really_ didn't want a second dosing of that.

"See him down there?" Tony said, gesturing to Strange and the alien in front of him. "He's in trouble. What's your plan? Go."

Peter knelt down, looking back to him in surprise that he'd ask _his_ opinion on a plan. "Um, okay, okay… Uh… Okay." He stood back up. "Did you ever see this really old movie, _Aliens_?"

The jab at his age was none-too-subtle, but after a quick run-through of what _exactly_ Peter's plan was, he had to admit… it was good. Simple, but effective. So, he got into position, wincing as Strange cried out in pain, before landing a bit behind the alien and arming himself.

"And any one of them… could end your friend's life in an instant," the alien threatened, turning and lifting some scattered parts of the ship.

"I gotta tell you, he's not really my friend," Tony complained. "My fiancée has more connections with him than me, so I'm kind of obligated to save him on her behalf. She'd really string me up otherwise and I'm not really into kinky stuff."

Strange struggled to resist a groan for fear of causing himself further pain, but the alien paid Tony's quips no mind.

"You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."

"Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies," Tony hummed, firing a few rockets to punch a hole in the side of the ship, forcibly sucking out the alien, his dangerous needles and parts into airless space.

Strange himself was nearly sucked out as well, slipping out of the grip of his cape and Peter nearly losing him as well, if it weren't for the spider-like appendages that came out of his suit and helped him pull Strange back in. Once the hole was sealed up, they were able to relax, and Peter landed by Strange happily.

"Hey, we haven't officially met," he greeted the cape, offering a hand to shake, but it took one look and floated off to Strange. "Cool."

Tony shook his head, removing his suit with the threat gone as Strange caught his breath and stood back up.

"We gotta turn this ship around."

"Yeah," Tony scoffs. "Now he wants to run. Great plan."

"I want to protect the stone," Strange argued.

"And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"For what? Nearly blasting me into space?" Strange snapped, the two already arguing without Jess's interference.

"Who just saved your magical ass? Me!" Tony said loudly.

"I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet, nor how Jess tolerates you."

"Don't you talk about her," Tony growled, taking a step towards him with a glare. "I don't know what happened between you two in Nepal, but she is _literally_ the only reason I even bothered to help you. I flew up here to keep that knucklehead safe, not you." He jabbed a finger at Peter, who fidgeted nearby, eyeing the two uneasily. "Admit it. You should've ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you, you refused."

"Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you," Strange grumbled.

"And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut, billions of miles from Earth with no backup while Jess is stuck down there trying to prepare for a damn army _alone_!"

"I'm backup," Peter offered.

"No, you're a stowaway. The adults are talking."

"I'm sorry. I-I-I'm confused as to the relationship here," Strange said with a shake of his head, looking to Peter. "W-W-What is he? Your ward?"

"No," Peter said, holding out a hand. "I'm Peter, by the way."

"Doctor Strange," Strange greeted, still confused.

"Oh, you're using our made-up names. Um, I'm Spider-Man then."

Strange eyed him for only a second longer before heading to where Tony was as the man spoke.

"This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot," he grumbled, begrudgingly setting aside their argument after his last comment about Jess.

He knew Jess was capable of a lot of things, but he also knew she was just getting into a sensitive part of her life where she was beginning to work out her past. She was already vulnerable—him adding the question of having kids before this mess having probably only added to her stress—and without him there, he worried. She was the best thing to happen to him in a long while and he was determined to make it back in one piece to make sure _she_ was in one piece. Yes, her abilities would help with that, but the unease wouldn't settle. He could only be certain if he was there at her side and if _he_ was this bothered by their separation, he could only imagine the stress she was in.

After so much of her life having been her struggling on her own, she'd finally allowed people to break in past her barriers. She had friends with the Avengers and was a partner to him, and he knew her biggest fear was losing the people she cared about and being left on her own again with nothing. He wouldn't allow that to happen while he was around, which meant getting back to her. Even if it meant working with the prepubescent spider-brat and her newest _friend._

"Can we control it? Fly us home?" Strange asked, having come to a similar conclusion that serious arguing and infighting would get them nowhere in this situation. "Stark?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get us home?"

"Yeah, I heard you… I think I'm not so sure we should," Tony mumbled, thinking now about the potential risk to the planet if they returned—bringing the _second_ stone to Earth who was undoubtedly struggling to protect one.

"Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos. I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here."

"No, it's _you_ who doesn't understand that Thanos has been inside my head _and_ Jess's for six years," Tony snapped, losing his patience once more. "Since he sent an army to New York and now he's back! And I don't know what to do. So, I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his, but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he's not expecting it and whatever people who would end up in the way on Earth aren't going to be placed on Jess's conscious like all the others she blames herself for since that damn New York attack. So, I say we take the fight to him, Doctor. Do you concur?"

Strange took a deep breath. "All right, Stark. We go to him, but you have to understand if it comes to saving you, or the kid, or the Time Stone… I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't because the universe depends on it."

"Nice. Good, moral compass," Tony praised, patting his arm. "Except, if there's one thing I know…" He cracked a slight smile. "Jess wouldn't be friends with someone who always followed their moral compass."

Strange resisted a small smile as well as Tony stepped over to Peter.

"All right, kid." He tapped Peter's shoulders in resignation. "You're an Avenger now."

Peter's eyes went wide before a smile cracked its way over his face as well. He couldn't wait for Ned to find out.

* * *

"So, you've been to Wakanda before?" Steve asked Jess, who rolled her shoulders and let out a grunt as she stretched.

She'd been napping on the flight over, much to his relief, though the stress was still very visible on her face. Still, any sleep from her was an improvement to earlier.

"Nope, never. The last king liked me for who knows what reason, though our meeting was brief—"

He winced at that, remembering the screw up that had caused the meeting in the first place had technically been their fault.

"—but T'Challa is like the rest of you lot. Stubborn, but smart and needing a nice kick in the pants by someone who won't put up with his 'I'm a king' nonsense. You were there for that bit. Guess who put him in place and left an impression?" She waved with a serious face. "Needless to say, I've since become the go-between for Wakanda and the U.S. government simply because he likes me better than them. So, while I may not have been _to_ Wakanda, I probably know more about it than you lot. No offense."

They finally landed the Quinjet and Jess sighed, getting up and moving to the front of the group.

"I take it you're all fine with me doing the talking? It's a lot of information, not a lot of time to explain it, and I still have to convince him to help."

Steve raised a brow. "You don't think he will?"

Jess cracked a smirk as the back of the Quinjet opened. "Oh, I _know_ he will. It's his _commander_ I have to convince and his people. This _is_, after all, the first time Wakanda has opened its doors to the outside world other than for helping you lot with Bucky."

Steve nodded, eternally grateful that Jess had managed to set that up, but knowing she was right in this case. While he was Captain America, that title meant little to the Wakandan people and proper diplomacy was needed to ensure they understood what was at stake and whether or not to join them. That being said, he raised a brow when they stepped up to the king and Jess crossed her arms over her chest briefly before grinning at T'Challa and stepping into a hug with the man.

"Nice to see you again, T'Challa," she smiled, apparently on more than good terms with him as he chuckled.

"And you, Jess. Thank you again for your gifts. Okoye rather enjoyed the coffee."

Said woman scoffed as Jess smiled innocently.

"Thought it'd give you a chance to add a Starbucks before actually opening your doors."

"_She_ gets it," Okoye grumbled, shooting T'Challa a look that made him smile awkwardly.

"Anyway, these are the morons I babysit. You already know the Captain," Jess introduced, and Steve bowed his head before T'Challa spotted Bruce bowing.

"Uh, we, we don't do that here."

Jess rolled her eyes, knowing Rhodey had messed with him as T'Challa gave her a look.

"Babysitting?"

"Trust me, it's an apt description."

"So, how big of an assault should we expect?" T'Challa asked as they began to head inside and Bruce—being the one who'd seen the army—spoke up.

"Uh, sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault."

"Biggest army in the universe, apparently," I replied. "How's your end?"

"You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and…" He gestured to Bucky as the man headed over with a smile.

"And a semi-stable one-hundred-year-old man."

Steve stepped forward with a grin, hugging the man and catching up as Jess looked to T'Challa.

"And do you think you can help us with him?" She gestured to Vision as he awkwardly held his side and trailed behind them. "We're thinking with your technology, you might be able to get the stone out of him without, you know, killing him."

"I'll see what we can do," he hummed, nodding for them to enter the main facility and leading them to the lab where Shuri gave Vision a scan.

"Whoa," Bruce mused at seeing the image she'd conjured up with the scan, making Jess snort.

"You and Tony. Always loving the tech."

Bruce shot her a small smile, glad she was still speaking of Tony as if he were fine. He'd been worried about her earlier, and while he knew she was still hiding her concern for the man, he was proud she was working through it.

"The structure is polymorphic," Shuri commented, looking thrilled herself.

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially," Bruce explained, having the most knowledge on Vision right now.

"Why didn't you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?"

Vision raised a brow, looking to Bruce who managed a grimace.

"Because we didn't think of it."

Shuri smirked. "I'm sure you did your best."

"Can you do it?" Wanda asked.

"Yes, but there are more than two _trillion_ neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time, brother," she informed T'Challa as Jess ran a hand through her hair with a sigh.

"How long?"

"As long as you can give me."

"We'll need everyone we can on the front lines," Jess mused, looking to T'Challa. "But I suggest leaving someone here for their sake."

"Who do you suggest?" T'Challa hummed.

"I'll stay," Wanda offered.

"Course you will," Jess snorted. "I never expected you not to. What I meant was that I'll stay. Give me some binoculars and hand out some comms. I'll give you lot a bird's eye view of what's going on and do my best to help from there."

"You won't fight with us?" Okoye questioned, brows furrowed in suspicion and Jess held up her hands.

"I'm honestly not amazing at fighting. I try and have a few tricks, but it's really all just spontaneous. I'm more of the planning strategic type. Natasha can whip my butt in hand-to-hand in ten seconds."

"Less," Natasha joked. "Though that's true with most people."

"Besides, I have no doubt they're waiting for Vision to be alone. They know Wanda is his best defense, but most people overlook me."

"Which is advantageous for us," Steve agreed, giving me a smirk. "They won't know what's coming."

"Then, I trust you to take care of Shuri," T'Challa mused.

"With my life," Jess answered seriously, giving Shuri a reassuring glance. "Though I hope that won't be necessary."

Shuri smiled a little in return before an alarm went off and Okoye checked her bracelet with a frown. A small hologram of the Earth appeared, and she eyed T'Challa with worry.

"Something's entered the atmosphere."

"_Hey, Cap? We've got a situation here,_" Sam announced over the comm just as something slammed into the barrier around Wakanda.

"_We've got more incoming outside the dome,_" Rhodey announced as well, as the group moved to the window to look and Vision sat up slowly.

"It's too late. We need to destroy the stone now."

"Vision get your ass back on the table," Natasha demanded as Jess nodded.

"We still have time."

"We will hold them off," T'Challa declared as they began to head out.

"Wanda, as soon as that stone's out of his head, you blow it to hell," Steve declared, giving Jess a nod as they all left and T'Challa handed out orders.

"Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses and get this man a shield."


	33. Chapter 33

"The hell happened to this planet?" Quill asked, eyeing the place where they'd landed and incidentally met up with Tony after encountering a very alive Thor who stole Rocket and ran off. "It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place."

Tony, who wasn't thrilled to find no Thanos and a group of morons who'd attacked them. "Yeah, we got one advantage. He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or, at least the beginnings of one. My fiancée is better at plans typically, but I digress. It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't want to dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet," he said as someone yawned, and he scowled at the man who did. "Are you yawning? In the middle of this while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?"

Drax glanced at his companion Mantis, before looking back. "I stopped listening after you said, 'we need a plan.'"

"Okay, Mr. Clean's on his own page," Tony declared, frustrated with the group already.

"See, 'not winging it' isn't really what they do," Quill explained.

Peter raised a hand. "Uh, what exactly is it that they do?"

"Kick names, take ass," Mantis replied as Drax nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

Tony sighed. _What would Jess do? Probably be completely exasperated, but she'd know every person counted. They're aliens. Might be useful in some way._ "All right, just get over here, please. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"

Quill nodded. "Mr. Lord. Star-Lord is fine."

The group gathered—sans Strange, who was levitating nearby—and Tony tried again.

"We've gotta coalesce. 'Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude—"

"Dude," Quill interrupted. "Don't call us plucky. We don't know what it means. All right? We're optimistic. Yes, I like your plan. Except, it sucks. So, let me do the plan and that way it might be really good."

"Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe," Drax mentioned.

"What dance-off?"

"It's not a… It's not… It's nothing," Quill stuttered, but Peter shot him a look.

"Like in _Footloose_, the movie?"

"Exactly like _Footloose,_" Quill agreed, thrilled he wasn't the only one here who knew the reference. "Is it still the greatest movie in history?"

"It never was."

Tony resisted a groan. "Don't encourage this, all right?"

"Okay."

"We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here."

"Flash Gordon? By the way, that's a compliment. Don't forget, I'm half-human," Quill argued. "So that fifty percent of me that's stupid? That's a hundred percent you."

"Your math is blowing my mind," Tony drawled before Mantis called out.

"Excuse me? but does your friend often do that?"

Tony looked to Strange, who's head was a turning blur. "Strange, we all right?"

Strange stopped levitating with a gasp of panic as Tony rushed forward, concerned—_not_ concerned.

"You're back. You're all right," Tony reassured, hoping whatever magic he was doing had a plan involved.

"Hi," Strange breathed out as Peter eyed him.

"Hey, what was that?"

"I went forward in time to view alternate futures," Strange explained, still rattled from the experience. "To see all possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

"How many did you see?" Quill asked.

"14,000,605."

"How many did we win?" Tony asked, suddenly feeling worried about the answer.

"One."

Tony swallowed thickly, but Strange wasn't finished.

"There was one… one problem though."

"Problem? What do you mean? What kind of problem?"

"Jess," Strange said, ensuring he had Tony's full attention. "She wasn't in any of them."

* * *

I anxiously ground my teeth, eyes searching through the high-tech binoculars at the assemblage heading for the border of the dome. A part of me wished I was down there fighting with the rest of them, but ever since Tony had left, I'd been dwelling more and more on that dream I'd had and my own shortcomings. I didn't think I'd be of any use down there. Just another person for them to worry about. _No. Don't think about that now. You're doing your best and Tony would be thrilled you got all these people together. Now, focus._

"How's the suit, Bruce?" I asked, seeing him lumbering along in one of Tony's suits that I got Friday to send over for his benefit since the Hulk was being stubborn.

"_Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it. Wow! This is amazing, man! It's like being the Hulk without actually-_" He promptly tripped, and I sighed when he crashed into the ground, turning my attention back to the dome.

"Hey, I'm getting two heat signatures coming out from the tree line," I informed them, zooming in. "Two aliens. A bulky guy—the one from New York, Bruce—and a woman?"

"The one who attacked us," Wanda supplied behind me, making me nod as Steve, Natasha and T'Challa went to go meet them.

They were safe within the border, but I knew that we couldn't just stay tucked up in here. _They would either find a way through or destroy everything else outside it, which Steve wouldn't allow. _I shook my head, pushing away images of people screaming and turning to dust. _Focus! If we can deal with his army, then that's one less problem to worry about. Just stay focused._

"_Where's your other friend?_" Natasha's voice came over the comms, allowing me in on their conversation with the aliens.

"_You will pay for his life with yours. Thanos will have that stone._"

"_That's not going to happen,_" Steve declared as T'Challa took charge.

"_You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood._"

"_We… have blood to spare._"

There was a grunt and rumble as the ships began to open and my eyes widened, taking another check through the binoculars.

"Guys, these aren't soldiers."

"_What the hell?_"

"_Looks like we pissed her off,_" Natasha mused as Steve spoke.

"_What do you mean, Jess?_"

"They're… not people like in any way. No weapons, not even a plan. They literally just ran out and went straight. They're… They're mindless beasts. They're trying to get through the barrier by brute force. They're…"

"_They're killing themselves,_" Okoye said in disgust.

"But they're progressing," I replied, scanning the barrier edge. "One's gotten in. Now five. Bit by bit, they're breaking through."

Gunfire went off, taking the stragglers out as Sam and Rhodey flew overhead and helped as well.

"Careful. Don't fly too low," I warned, seeing Sam dodge one beast that launched itself at them. "I'm going to try and find a pattern, but… I honestly don't think they have one. It's literally like sending a pack of dogs out."

"_All right, back up, Sam. You're gonna get your wings singed,_" Rhodey called out, bombing where the creatures were piled up the most.

"Hold up. You guys have a problem," I announced, seeing the pack splitting off and trying to circle around. "They're looking for other ways in, circling around. We can't let them get behind us. I hate to say it, but your best bet is to funnel them in directly in front of you."

"_Are you sure?_" T'Challa asked.

"It's the only way I can see. They are literally just trying to find any way possible to get to their target. Give them the opening though, and the other two will slip in the chaos. Maybe more. We can't trust that they're the only ones of Thanos' children here. If they're smart, they won't show off all their cards right away. And my guess is, they aren't exactly stupid if they've defeated entire worlds."

"_Then, on my signal, open North-West Section Seventeen._"

I took a deep breath and let it out, lowering my binoculars as the group charged in. Wanda squeezed my shoulder, making me eye her as she managed a grimace of a smile. I know she wanted to tell me they'd be fine, but we both knew things weren't going to be that easy. I brought the binoculars back up just as the barrier went down and they began to fight.

"I'll keep an eye on the opening. Let you know when those two have snuck in," I called out as T'Challa called back.

"_How much longer, Shuri?_"

"I've barely begun, brother," she replied.

"_You might want to pick up the pace!_"

"Don't you know pressuring people trying to do delicate work _really_ makes things problematic?" I grumbled. "Hold on, those two are through! I can see them on the other side anymore!"

"_Thanks for the heads up!_" Natasha replied.

"T'Challa, how're the numbers? Too many?"

"_We can't close the barrier, or they'll come around!_"

"So, don't close it for long," I answered. "Have them open and close it at five-minute intervals. It's not enough time for them to run around the barrier and it will limit the number coming in a little more."

"_I can see now why you're the strategist,_" he commented, passing along the order and the barrier closed for now.

I turned my binoculars through the fights going on, anxiety eating away at me as I saw the carnage, but I was searching for the two more powerful aliens.

"Rhodey, duck!"

He did, dodging the ax thrown by the bulkier alien. "_Thanks, Jess!_"

"Don't thank me yet! You guys need to stick in pairs! There's too many to try and deal with on your own individually! Steve get to T'Challa! Rhodey, Sam, you two need to help cover them from the air if they start getting overwhelmed! Bucky stick with Bruce for now! He's too bulky to move quickly or deal with ones on his back! I'll keep an eye on the duo and warn anyone when they get close!"

Just then, there was a bright pillar of light and a large amount of the beasts were blasted away as I let out a heaving sigh of relief. _Thor. Thank God._

"Heads up, guys. There's a new player on the field," I announced. "And someone get him a comm. I need to tell him he's late."

"_Haha!_" Bruce cheered at the sight of Thor. "_You guys are so screwed now!_"

The two head aliens actually looked worried, which was good, and Thor charged after them as I blinked at his companions.

"Hold on. Is that a tree and a raccoon?"

"Do I even _want_ to know what is going on down there?" Shuri asked, and I turned to look at her.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure myself."

* * *

It didn't make sense to him, Thanos' plan. Strange had a hard time understanding how the man could think that genocide would be a solution to things like overpopulation and the rest of a world's problems. He briefly wondered what Jess would think of it. He got the feeling that she might have had a longer talk with Thanos about his plans if she were here, but he was still hung up about something. All those things the Ancient One told him about Jess. What Jess herself had told him. What he'd seen—or not seen—while viewing those visions of the future. Not once had he seen Jess. Not in the millions of battles they'd lost. Not in the one, single battle they'd won. 14,000,605 alternate futures and Jess hadn't existed in a single one.

It bothered him, unnerved him. What did that make her then? An anomaly? An exception to the universe? Was she some all-powerful being that they didn't know of who could change the future just by being there? Or was she simply just an extra cog in the wheel that would go unnoticed? He'd almost thought she'd replaced someone—having seen Pepper Potts in his visions instead. But he was positive that woman was still around running Tony's company. So, was she an extra person in the world? And what did that mean for this situation? The possibilities felt endless, yet as Tony dropped a large building, the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind.

"Piece of cake, Quill," Tony scoffed.

"Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off!"

The building exploded into pieces before turning into bats that knocked Tony away. Peter swooped down and blinded Thanos with some webbing, allowing Drax to cut into the man's calves and help Strange fight him as best they could. Drax was knocked away and Thanos grabbed Strange's mystic sword, peeling the webbing off and kicking Strange back only to get hit in the back by Quill. Strange provided footholds for Quill, allowing him to get close enough to place a bomb on the back of Thanos and knock him down.

"Don't let him close his fist," Strange informed his cape, which flew off to prevent just that as Strange opened portals to allow Peter to jump in and out and attack Thanos. That is until Thanos grabbed a hold of him and pinned him down.

"Insect!"

Peter was thrown into Strange and Thanos ripped the cape off his hand, but Tony was back, firing off missiles and blocking his view. Using the Space Stone, Thanos gathered the blasts and used them back on Tony, knocking him away once more. Peter swung in and grabbed the gauntlet with his webs, trying to pull it off, but was dragged forward and hit—the webbing removed again. A ship crashed into Thanos then, knocking him down and dragging him across the planet as his own daughter jumped out and punched him, bringing a blade.

"Well, well."

"You should have killed me," she told him.

"It would've been a waste of parts!"

She attacked him in her anger, hitting him repeatedly with little effect. "Where's Gamora!"

He knocked her away and Strange flew up, wrapping the gauntlet in his magic to try and pull it off. Drax knocked Thanos to his knees as he struggled and Quill used a device to grab hold of his free arm while Peter wrapped him up in webbing to pull as well. Strange released the gauntlet as Tony went to try and pull it free, before opening a portal to allow Mantis to land on Thanos' shoulders and enter his mind. Thanos wailed as they fought to pull the gauntlet off until Mantis used more power.

"Is he under?" Tony asked, struggling with the gauntlet.

"Be quick. He is very strong," Mantis warned.

"Parker, help! Get over here!" Tony demanded and Peter rushed over. "She can't hold him much longer. Let's go."

"We've gotta open his fingers to get it off," Peter explained as Quill landed and headed over.

"I thought you'd be hard to catch. For the record, this was my plan. You're not so strong now, huh?" He mocked Thanos. "Where is Gamora?"

"My Gamora," Thanos grunted out.

"No. Bullshit! Where is she?"

"He is in anguish," Mantis informed them.

"Good."

"He… He mourns."

"What does this monster have to mourn?" Drax bit out, struggling to hold Thanos' legs.

"Gamora," Nebula informed them.

"What?" Quill asked, turning to her.

"He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone, but she didn't."

Tony could see this going downhill real fast and dropped his helmet. "Okay, Quill? You gotta cool it right now. You understand? Don't. Don't. Don't engage. We almost got this off!" He shouted, knowing how furious he'd be if it were Jess, but also knowing that the entire _universe_ was going to burn if they didn't end this now.

"Tell me she's lying," Quill demanded to know from Thanos. "Asshole, tell me you didn't do it!"

"I had to," Thanos grunted.

"No, you didn't. No, you didn't." Quill took a step back before yelling and repeatedly hitting Thanos—knocking Mantis's hands off his temples before Tony stopped him.

Peter had _just_ gotten the gauntlet off when the connection was broken and Thanos knocked his head back into Mantis, retrieving his gauntlet and throwing her away. Peter went after her and caught her as Thanos threw everyone else off him and knocked out all of Quill's team and Nebula. Tony did his best, but he was knocked down as well before Thanos grabbed the nearest moon and threw it at him, crushing him into the ground.

* * *

Things were looking up in the battle below, but I didn't doubt there were still more tricks. Sure enough, a deep rumble drew my attention to the forest's edge, and I paled, hastily bringing the binoculars back up.

"Uh, guys? _Please_ tell me you were smart enough to make your barrier go underground."

"_Not more than a foot. Why?_"

"Because things just got a lot more complicated. You better move! They're right on top of you!"

Spinning blade-like drills came up from underground and I grit my teeth, muttering under my breath.

"Come on, come on, think! Do any attacks work?" I asked the group.

"_Not on my end!_" Sam replied and I bit out a curse, zooming in as much as I could to try and find a weakness.

"T-Try to upturn them? Knock them on their sides?"

"_We can't get close enough!_"

"S-Stick in the spokes?"

"_With what stick!_"

"I'm trying, okay!" I finally snapped, fingers tangled in my hair and yanking painfully on the strands.

"I'll go."

I blinked, turning, but Wanda was already heading for the door. "What? Wanda, wait!"

She hurried off and I groaned. Yes, she'd be able to deal with the drills better than the others, but it meant that we were down one more person should trouble show up, _and_ no one would be able to destroy the stone once we got it out. _I'm literally going to have to hand-deliver it._ I ran a hand over my face and begrudgingly turned back to the window, only to hear a cry from a guard in the hall. Shuri paled and looked to me, but I waved her off, beginning to heat up.

"Keep working. I'll get them out of here so you can finish. Vision, stay _put_. I mean it."

One of the Kingsguards left with us was putting up a decent fight before she got knocked across the room and I stepped in, throwing on my suit in an instant and catching the alien's spear only to grimace when he put more power behind it, and it began to cut into my suit.

"Oh, that's not good."

The blades spear sliced off my right hand and I spat out a curse as the man chuckled and Shuri gasped.

"Jess!"

"Don't worry. I'm _really_ durable," I growled, hand reforming with a boiling heat as I flexed it. "Especially when I'm pissed off."

Said fist was thrown at the unsuspecting alien, knocking him back away from Shuri and across the room where the Kingsguard took up fighting with him once more until I threw him out the window.

"Keep Shuri safe!" I called back to the guard, flying out. "I'll deal with him."

"_Guys, we've got a Vision situation here,_" Sam called out over the comms.

"I've got it," I cut in, landing solidly where I'd hoped the alien had stayed, except he'd dodged the move. "Shuri's still working and I've moved the problem to another location just below." I ducked under a swing of his blade and swung my foot around, heel kicking him in the side and sending him sliding back. "Besides, he cut off my hand. I think I owe him the same."

"_He __**what!**__"_

I rolled my eyes at Bruce's exclamation, grabbing the arm of the spear I'd dodged and twisting it out of the alien's hands before attempting to stab him with it unsuccessfully. "Mind you, I _can_ regenerate limbs."

"_Oh. I guess that's okay then._"

"_It's really not,_" Steve argued, only for my eyes to widen as I was abruptly knocked further into the forest by a large ax.

I grunted, managing to land on my feet as I shook my head. "Oh, you punks let _two_ through!"

"_Someone get to Jess!_"

"_On my way!_" Banner called out as I dodged another hit by the heavy ax, rushing forward and under it to fly up behind his back and kick him upside the head.

Even with power behind it, the bulk of an alien did little more than grunt and slide back a bit. I cursed as the spear from before clipped my right thigh before I could dodge. Thankfully, Bruce landed beside me with his hands raised threateningly in his suit.

"Oh, no. Oh no, you don't. This isn't gonna be like New York, pal. This suit's already kicked the crap outta the Hulk."

The bulky guy swung his ax, warping it around Bruce's wrists as he pulled the alien away, leaving me back with the original spear-wielding one. I rolled my neck, before smirking.

"Back on an even playing field."

Our fight continued with any injuries I received getting easily repaired and making the man more and more frustrated, thus making his attacks more sporadic. There was a blast that drew our attention away for a moment and my grin widened as his bulky companion was shot up into the sky, skimmed along the barrier, and consequently killed in a shower of sparks. Seeing his chance, he began his attack again and I cursed myself for being distracted, especially when his blade pierced right through my abdomen.

He smirked. "I thought you were formidable in your machine, but you'll die like any man."

I grit my teeth, wrapping a hand around his wrist and squeezing it tight enough to make his grip loosen on the spear. "I'm a _woman_," I hissed, spinning and throwing him over my shoulder before ripping the spear out with a gasp.

Blood splattered on the ground until my body hissed with steam and the wound began to seal. Not giving him a chance to retaliate, I used his own blade as I spun around and lopped off his head.

"Fuck you," I spat, cringing a bit and leaning on the spear as I used it as a cane for a moment. "Piece of shit. Don't you know how much concentration this takes?" I tapped into my comms. "Finished the other guy. I'm making my way back to Vision just in case."

"_You okay?_" Steve asked over the comms.

"Been better. Not used to healing extensive injuries with my abilities just yet. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll be healed by the time I get back."

"_Language,_" Natasha chided with a chuckle as Steve groaned.

"_You know, one day you'll stop making that joke_."

"_Never._"

* * *

Tony struggled for breath through the pain of the blade pierced through his side. This was it, he knew. They had no chance of beating Thanos now, even without the man owning the Time Stone. Their whole group had just been completely scattered and devastated by one overgrown grape, and Tony faced the glowing gauntlet facing him with as much pride as he could. He had done his best, even if it wasn't good enough. He could only hope that Jess would steer clear of Thanos when the time came down to it. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Stop," Strange called out then, making Thanos pause. "Spare his life, and I will give you the stone."

Thanos eyed him. "No tricks."

Strange shook his head and Thanos held out his gauntlet to Strange as he lifted his hand and made the gem appear.

"Don't," Tony tried to stop him, but Strange let the gem slip away without a fight.

"One to go," Thanos mused as Quill flew over firing shots uselessly at him.

Thanos stepped back into a clouded portal, vanishing from sight as Tony did his best to heal himself.

"Where is he!" Quill demanded before his eyes widened. "Did we just lose?"

Tony looked back to Strange, devastation and worry filling him. "Why would you do that?"

"We're in the endgame now."

* * *

I landed back in the main building, holding up my hands to calm the guard who'd raised her spear at the interruption. "It's fine. Just me. Shuri?"

Shuri grinned from her position up above. "I've nearly got it!"

"How nearly is nearly?" I asked, letting out a deep breath as my suit vanished and I lifted my shirt to check the progress of my healing.

All that was left was a slightly aching scar running from the base of my rib cage to my hip on the left side. _Good enough. I can't waste any more energy on this when there could be more trouble. Tony won't be pleased about another scar, but… he'll understand._

"I got it!"

"Seriously?" I questioned, looking up in shock to find the gem now hovering over Vision's forehead safely. "And Vision?"

"I-I'm… I'm okay, I think," he replied as Shuri moved the gem away and I reached out to take it.

I winced when it landed in my palm, very not happy about being in _my_ hands over… well, anyone else's. "Yeah, well, I'm not happy about it either, you know."

"Are you talking to it?" Shuri asked, coming down from her perch.

"Long story. Look, Vision, stay here with Shuri. I honestly don't know how crazy powerful you might be without the stone and you'll need to recover. That, and I promise T'Challa I'd keep her safe. I'll get the stone to Wanda."

He sat up carefully with a nod, eyeing me. "Thank you, Jess."

I cracked a smirk as my suit came back on. "What? No 'Miss' this time."

He simply smiled in return as I took off out the window and spoke over my comms.

"Wanda? I've got the gem. I need your location."

"_And Vision?_"

"With Shuri. Alive."

"_Thank God._"

Something changed then, making me suddenly feel uneasy and the gem in my palm going unnaturally quiet.

"Steve, I'm going to need cover. Like, yesterday," I said quietly. "He's here."

"_Everyone, on my position. We have incoming._"

I landed behind the gathered group just as Thanos himself stepped through a portal, adding to the uneasiness in my gut. I could feel them. _All_ of them.

"No," I breathed, knowing what that meant. "No, no. Tony and, and Strange were supposed to…"

"Calm down, Jess," Steve warned, making me swallow back the lump in my throat. "Focus."

_Right. Focus. Saving the universe. Tony and Strange are smart. They could still be out there alive and well._ I tightened my grip on the gem as Bruce confirmed it.

"Cap, that's him."

"Eyes up. Stay sharp," Steve said seriously, preparing himself as they moved in.

"H-He's got all the gems. He can manipulate space," I muttered, watching Bruce just phase right through him and get trapped in the rock wall behind. "Power."

Steve was flipped head-over-heals into the dirt as T'Challa was grabbed and punched down as well. Everyone was trying their best, but it was like fighting a brick wall. They didn't stand a chance. I took a step back, coming up beside Wanda.

"Wanda, we need to destroy it. They're buying us time and it's not much." I held up the gem in my hand. "Please. Quickly."

She nodded, taking a step back and focusing her powers on destroying it as best she could. I winced, hearing the gem scream and wail that it wasn't going to work. That I was nothing and couldn't stop this. Everyone was down now, and I eyed the approaching Thanos in concern as Wanda freed a hand to try and hold him back even longer. The gem began to crack and just as Thanos was only a step away, it finally shattered, knocking us down. Thanos stepped forward, not even bothered and I hastily moved between him and Wanda, prepared to do anything to keep her safe at the moment with her being the only person I knew capable of destroying the stones.

Thanos eyed me with a frown. "I know many people here, but not you. Why is that?"

I swallowed thickly, forcing myself to speak despite the stones' chattering in my head and the feeling of authority and power Thanos gave off, reminding me of another man who made me feel just as small and insignificant.

"T-That's me. Unassuming."

_Strong,_ Tony's voice rang in my mind.

"Insignificant."

_Intelligent._

"Boring."

_Beautiful._

"J-Jess Norris, by the way. I'd say nice to meet you, but… you know. Supervillain."

His brows remained furrowed. "You must have stayed around Tony Stark for a while. You have his poor sense of humor."

I stiffened, getting confirmation that Tony _had_ encountered Thanos, but as much as I'd like to demand where he was—if he was even alive—I couldn't risk Thanos using that against me. If Tony were dead, I'd be furious and wouldn't be able to fight without my anger taking over. If Tony were alive, it would be easy for Thanos to threaten him and cause me to falter all the same.

"You're right though," Thanos continued. "You're insignificant. So is time."

_Oh, no._ I feared what those words meant, having an idea, but not wanting to believe it even as it happened right before my eyes. All our hard work was pointless as he recreated the gem with a twist of his hand.

"No!" Wanda shouted, getting knocked away easily as I rushed in after her.

I grabbed the gauntlet, superheating myself as quickly as possible in the hopes of melting the gems out of their slots.

_Not now._

_Bad timing._

_Stupid child._

_Run away! Run away!_

_Can't stop it yet._

_Inevitable._

I was pried off and Thanos scowled, baring his teeth even as my skin burnt his hand before he threw me aside as well and my back snapped against a tree trunk. I dropped to the ground, eyes clenched shut as the final gem was put into place and the gems' voices practically screamed in my head. It was overwhelming as my heat tried to immediately heal whatever spinal-like injuries had occurred to my throbbing back, and before Thanos could do anything more, he was thrust back by lightning from Thor and his new ax. Thor threw it as Thanos tried to stop it and even I was amazed to find the ax pierced right through the beam of power and landed solidly in the center of Thanos' chest.

_Did he do it?_ I wondered in amazement, hoping beyond hope that he had as he approached Thanos and pressed the ax further into him. I could hear it though, the stones. Cackling, sighing, waiting. Something was wrong.

"T-Thor…" I coughed, clearing my throat as I pushed myself weakly up, trying to warn him. "Thor, s-something's not right! He's not going to die from that!"

Thor turned towards me in shock, looking back just as Thanos lifted his gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

"No!"

It was weird, to feel all the stones' power at once. My entire body throbbed as though I'd been struck, and I fell back against the tree as Thanos eyed his burnt arm and gauntlet.

"What did you do?" Thor demanded. "What'd you do!"

Thanos took one brief look around before vanishing through a portal, leaving Thor's ax behind. Steve stumbled over, looking around.

"Where'd he go? Thor. Where'd he go?"

"N-Not good," I breathed, drawing their attention to me. "No, no, no. V-Very not good."

"Jess? Jess, hey." Steve came over to me as I leaned heavily against the tree, sweat dripping off my face and onto the ground as I doubled over with wide, panicked eyes. "Hey, what is it? Do you know what happened? Where he went? Jess!"

"A-Ashes," I murmured, looking up at him with tearful eyes. "T-They're all going to turn to ash."

"What?"

"Steve?" Bucky called out, making him turn and straighten as he saw Bucky's arm begin to disintegrate.

The Winter Soldier collapsed, vanishing into nothing but ash as Steve abandoned me and went over in disbelief. I heard Okoye crying out in the distance as Steve rushed over to me and hauled me up by my shirt—suit having vanished not long after the snap.

"What happened? What just happened to Bucky! Jess! Answer me!"

I didn't know what to say. I could have prevented this? How? In what way? Did I do it wrong? The stones had called me foolish. Was it a trick? They said it was inevitable. Was everything it said about prevention a lie? Bad timing, not now. Was I too early? Too late?

"Jess!" Steve shouted again, drawing my gaze back up to him.

"I-I… I'm sorry," I murmured, not knowing what else to do and he growled dangerously, rearing back a fist only to slam it into the tree beside me, making me cringe.

He dropped me back to the ground, as thunder rumbled, and more cries of anguish rang out from the forest from others who'd realized that they had just lost those they were fighting with. Friends, family, loved ones, strangers. Half the universe was vanishing right before everyone's eyes, leaving the few of us remaining to begin to gather in the small patch of forest we'd been fighting in.

"What is this? What the hell is happening?" Rhodey asked first and Steve jabbed a finger my way.

"Ask _her_," he spat, dragging a hand through his hair as he paced near Bucky's ashes.

"Jess?" Natasha questioned.

"It's my fault," I murmured, eyes stuck on the ground. "They said I could do something. They _said _I could stop it!" I slammed a fist into my thigh angrily as tears spilled down my face. "Goddammit. Why? Why couldn't I stop this?"

"Stop what, Jess?" Natasha asked, grabbing my shaking fist to prevent me from continuing to hurt myself. "Jess, please. Tell us what's going on."

My arm soon relaxed as I sagged, unable to face them as I explained as simply as I could.

"Half of all living things in the universe are gone, and I could have prevented it."


	34. Chapter 34

**Hello! Still alive, I swear! There will be three more chapters after this and an epilogue-ish sort of chapter at the end to finish up "Endgame," leaving this story as complete! I will leave this and the following chapter up for a bit, then post the next two, before leaving the final one for a little later (partially because cliffhangers are fun and also because I feel dropping it all at once will ruin what I have planned).**

**Hope you all enjoy it though, and please let me know what you think!**

**Check for updates on what I have planned on my profile(s) for all my other stories as well. :)**

* * *

"This thing on?" Tony questioned, sitting alone in the cockpit of the ship he and Nebula were stranded in, testing his helmet. "Hey, Jess. If you find this recording, don't post it on social media. It's gonna be a real tearjerker," he grunted out, exhausted and starving but finally having the courage to make another video for Jess.

_If she's even still out there…_

"I don't know if you're ever gonna see these. I don't even know if you're still…" He couldn't bring himself to say it. "Oh, God, I hope so. Today's day… twenty-one? No, uh, twenty-two. You know, if it wasn't for the existential terror of staring into the literal void of space, I'd say I'm feeling a little better today. Infection's run its course thanks to the blue meanie back there. Oh, you'd probably butt heads with her, but secretly love her. Very practical, only a tiny bit sadistic. Reminds me of you."

He managed a small chuckle before it faltered.

"So, the fuel cells were cracked during battle and we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge and bought ourselves about forty-eight hours of flight time. Uh, but it's now dead in the water. Thousand light-years from the nearest 7-Eleven. Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning and that'll be it. I was really hoping to pull off one last surprise for you, Jess. I just… I hope you're not blaming yourself for this. I know how you can get when things go wrong, and with your visions and everything, I just… I'm worried for you, Jess. I wish I could just be there to let you know it's okay. Even if it was the last minute of my life… I just want to see you."

He buried his face in his hands, taking in a shuttering breath and letting it out.

"I should probably lie down for a minute. Go rest my eyes… Please know, when I drift off it'll be like every night lately. I'm fine. Totally fine… I dream about you. Because it's always you."

He reached out and shut off the recording, wrapping his jacket around him and lying beside the helmet, closing his eyes for what felt like the last time. He didn't feel Nebula placing him in the pilot's seat, just a vague shifting until there was a rumble and a warmth on his face. He blinked open his eyes, blocking the light with his hand before staring in shock at the woman who hovered right before the front window of the ship. It wouldn't be his last night after all.

He barely understood what was happening as she easily took the ship, bringing it down to Earth and landing it on the front lawn of the Avengers headquarters, drawing out those within to stare in amazement. Tony was helped out of the ship by Nebula before Steve rushed over to help in her stead.

"Couldn't stop him," Tony apologized.

"Neither could I."

"Hang on, hang on," Tony breathed, stopping. "I lost the kid."

"Tony, _we _lost."

"Is, uh…" He looked towards the group on the lawn, feeling his chest begin to fill with anguish. "Jess…?"

Steve hesitated, not sure how to tell him. "Tony, there's something we need to talk about."

They moved inside and Rhodey was given a nod to bring up the information Tony needed to see.

"It's been twenty-three days since Thanos came to Earth."

"World governments are in pieces," Natasha explained. "The parts that _are_ still working are trying to take a census and it looks like he did… He did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures."

Images of lost Avengers and known associates flickered across the holograms in front of them, making the newly arrived Captain Marvel solemn at the sight of Nick Fury being listed among one of those vanished. Tony though, had yet to see the face he'd expected and there was a tension in the room he didn't like.

"What about Jess? She's not here. She's not showing up in your files. Is she… Is she like the others?"

Steve nodded to Rhodey, who changed the image to old news castings from almost a month ago. It showed Jess, alive and well after the snap, facing the shattered governments and the people who were questioning whether the Avengers were to blame.

"She stood up for us," Steve informed Tony as he watched in sorrow and amazement. "Even when nobody else would."

"She was recording," Bruce added, wringing his hands. "Nothing too invasive, but enough to show we were trying to stop it. She's the reason we're even still allowed to be living here."

"So, where is she?" Tony asked, feeling as though they were holding back something and then, the news clips changed to a video of Jess in handcuffs being escorted out of a building. "No…"

"They needed someone to blame," Steve murmured. "Secretary Ross—"

"I'll _kill_ him," Tony snarled, making to get up, but he was still too weak and sank back into his chair with a pained whine. "God, not her. Why? She always just… She just wanted to help."

Steve swallowed thickly, knowing he too had blamed Jess for a while after the snap—his feelings about Bucky having pushed past any rational judgment.

"I… I think it was a punishment," Natasha spoke up, knowing just as well as Tony that Jess wasn't the type of person to do anything without reason, especially if it would have hurt someone. "She was blaming herself for this, Tony. Why?"

He was silent for a moment, hating that his nightmare was coming true. "She'd had dreams… Ever since the first New York attack, the Tesseract gave her glimpses of the future."

"She never mentioned this," Steve pressed. "She said she had visions, but she never once said anything about Thanos or, or this sort of destruction."

"She didn't know," Tony explained. "After a while, I suggested making notes of her dreams and they were almost always the same. A large man. A snap. People screaming. Fighting. Ashes. No one could have known what that meant. Not until it was all put together right in front of you. She showed me her notes and even _I_ didn't know what it meant until today."

"Then, why blame herself?"

Tony let out a bitter chuckle. "That's just who she is. The least selfish human being on the planet. She'd take on the world's problems if she could, but instead, she decided to take on ours. She's blaming herself because she didn't want anyone else to, especially not those trying to stop it."

Steve felt guilt welling up in him, understanding now, why Jess hadn't once fought back against him that day. Why she hadn't argued and why she'd immediately said out loud that it was all her fault. She _wanted_ them to blame her because it meant they didn't blame themselves for not being fast enough, strong enough, smart enough.

"Where is she now?"

Surprisingly enough, it was Captain Marvel who asked, before Tony could.

"She escaped from prison almost three weeks ago," Natasha informed them, flipping the hologram files to one that labeled Jess a wanted criminal. "She's been off the grid ever since."

"And Thanos?" Tony asked. "Where is he now? Where?"

"We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through," Steve replied, making Tony sigh and adjust his wheelchair, looking to Thor.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, he's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which, of course, he did but there's a lot of that going around, ain't there?" Rocket replied. "That woman, Jess. She tried to convince him otherwise, but he wouldn't let her."

"Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear."

"Maybe I am."

"We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now," Steve explained, rather surprised Tony was handling Jess's disappearance so well. "Deep space scans and satellites and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him."

"Who told you that?" Tony asked innocently, adjusting the robe that barely hung on his thin shoulders. "I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight because he's not beatable."

"Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?"

Tony blew a raspberry, having nothing. "I saw this coming a few years back. Jess even more so. Thought I was dreaming."

"Tony, I'm going to need you to focus."

"And I needed you," Tony countered. "As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late, buddy. Sorry. You know what I need? I need a shave," Tony announced, knocking over the dishes from his meal and making them flinch. "And I believe I remember telling all youse alive and otherwise, that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world!" Tony snapped, pulling out his IV as Rhodey tried to calm him down. "Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not. That's what we _needed_."

"Well, that didn't work out, did it?" Steve argued.

"I said, 'we'd lose.' You said, 'we'll do that together too.' And guess what, Cap? We lost and you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the 'Avengers.' We're the 'Avengers,' not the 'Pre-vengers.' Right?"

"Okay, you made your point," Rhodey pressed. "Just sit down, okay?"

"Okay. No, no. Here's my point. You know what? She's great, by the way," he said, pointing to Captain Marvel as Rhodey tried to push him back into his seat. "We need you. You're new blood. Bunch of tired old mules. I got _nothing_ for you, Cap. I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero, zip, nada. No trust, lair. Here, take this."

Tony took off the piece on his chest and placed it in Steve's hand, much to their amazement.

"You find him, you put that on, you hide." Tony sagged and they hurried over to help him. "I'm fine. I need… I need to find Jess."

Then, he collapsed.

"Bruce gave him a sedative," Rhodey explained to those waiting. "He's gonna probably be out for the rest of the day."

"You guys take care of him," Captain Marvel hummed. "And I'll bring him a Xorrian elixir when I come back."

"Where are you going?" Steve asked.

"To find his fiancée," she answered, stepping out. "Then? To kill Thanos."

Natasha took a second to run that through her mind, before hurrying after her. "Hey. You know, we usually work as a team here and uh, between you and I, morale's a little fragile."

Steve agreed. "We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too."

"You even know where he is?" Rhodey asked.

"I know people who might."

"Don't bother," Nebula said, drawing their attention to her. "I can tell you where Thanos is… but why find his fiancée?"

Captain Marvel smirked. "Because she's something new."

* * *

I sighed, breath coming out as fogged as I stepped back into the small cave I'd situated myself into. I dropped the carcass of a downed rabbit onto a stone slab and set up my gathered sticks into a decent, long-lasting campfire setup before snapping my fingers. Sparks ignited the dead grass at the base, and I blew on it a few times to ensure the fire would go strong and I could allow my abilities a break for a bit. Even heated up as I was, I could still feel the chilling bite of the icy wind while I was outside, but it was good practice. One week of sneaking into the New York Sanctum and getting Wong's attention long enough to give me easy access to Nepal meant two weeks tucked away on Everest, _far_ away from outside contact. Other than the occasional mountain climber I saved and helped out, I was on my own.

A part of me said I shouldn't have broken out of prison. That I deserved to be shut up in the Fridge like Secretary Ross wanted. Half the world was gone and the more I ran through what had happened, the more I felt that there was something I could have done. I couldn't even feel the stones anymore, which didn't bode well. I didn't know if Tony had turned to dust like the others. And if he hadn't, I hoped he wouldn't have to see me again. He deserved better.

I grit my teeth, cursing when I pulled out the rabbit I'd been cooking to find it burnt because I'd allowed a hint of my power to slip past my control and double the size of the fire in front of me. _I can't keep doing this. I need to either work through this or just lock myself back up in the Fridge. My control had gotten so much better, but it still gets fucked up when I'm emotional._ I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out before getting up. The rabbit was inedible now. More charred ash than meat, so I would have to go back out again. It'd taken more than a day to get this one, having to travel far down the mountain and back up to get it. If I didn't want to go as far, I'd be hunting the goats, but they tended to have more meat than I could handle. It just seemed like a waste.

I sighed, grabbing my thick, fur-lined coat and throwing the hood over my head once I'd put on my tinted goggles and pulled my scarf up over my nose. Well-heated or not, I was working on maintaining my body temperature at a normal level despite the cold. I'd only really heat up while practicing, hunting, or bathing—since the waters were well beyond survival temperature up here. I started my trek down the mountain and found a place to rest near a small spring. I knelt down, removing my gloves and heating my hand as I grabbed water to drink, only to freeze.

I was being watched. The one plus side to my self-isolation was knowing when I wasn't alone, and as the person—no animal would have come up directly behind me—stepped onto the snow, I flipped over my arm and threw water up at them. Since I'd superheated myself, the water turned to steam and blocked their vision as my boots splashed into the stream with a hiss, allowing me to throw myself forward with my hunting blade. It was almost against their throat as the steam vanished, revealing a blonde woman who raised a brow, despite the red-hot knife at her throat.

"Not entirely what I expected, but impressive," she mused, making me frown and lift my goggles, eyeing her with golden eyes, not willing to risk cooling down until I was certain of who she was.

"Sorry, do I know you?"

"Doubt it."

"Right," I murmured. "So, _why_ shouldn't I just kill you?"

"Two reasons," she mused, eerily calm. "One, you wouldn't be able to. Two, I know your fiancé."

I stiffened at that, tightening my grip on the blade, but not removing it. "A lot of people know him," I grumbled.

"I brought him home. I mean, he's unconscious after throwing a rather impressive tantrum with Captain America, but he's alive."

I was conflicted. Overjoyed that Tony was okay but suspicious of this woman and why exactly she was here telling me this.

"I can take you to see him if you'd like."

"Why?" I blurted out, slowly lowering the knife.

"You don't want to see him?"

_I do. Of __**course**__, I do, but…_ I turned away, cooling off and tucking the blade away. "You should go."

She didn't, of course, trailing after me as I continued down the mountain. "I plan on going to kill Thanos."

"Good for you," I grumbled, lifting my goggles to eye the landscape briefly along with the sky. _Storm might be moving in. I'll have to take shelter before I get to where I need._

"You're not angry about what he did?"

"I don't know the reason _behind_ what he did," I countered. "Sorry, who are you again?"

"Captain Marvel," she replied with a shrug. "Or Carol Danvers. Former USAF pilot."

I eyed her once more, feeling something from her that reminded me of Wanda and Vision. "Another enhanced by the Space Stone apparently. Joy." I looked away, continuing to walk. "Why are you bugging me?"

"Because I find it curious you're blaming yourself for something out of your control, and I've been told you're different than most people."

I was beginning to get frustrated now. "So, what? Am I not allowed to blame myself for something that I could have stopped?"

"Who said you could have stopped it?"

"The stupid—" I cut myself off, gritting my teeth and turning away—the excuse sounding a bit stupid even to _my_ ears. "… those damn stones."

"You can understand them?"

I sighed. "Understand them, speak with them, whatever. They showed me visions of this stupid mess and when it was actually happening, I sat around and twiddled my thumbs even though they said I could change things. I did something wrong, obviously, because shit still happened. People died, turned to ash, just as I was shown. Just…" I snapped my fingers. "Dead. All the Avengers and an army of Wakadan people couldn't stop him. What the _hell_ did they think I could do?"

"Good point. Why are _you_ so special?"

My brow twitched and I hardly noticed the snow melt under my feet as I kept walking and she continued.

"I mean, you're just a human who happened to get engaged to Iron Man, right? Take away the suit and what's left?"

_This woman…_

"And your fire ability isn't that great either, right? What could you _possibly_—"

"Are you _done_?" I bit out, eyes flaring gold as she smirked.

She'd been trying to rile me up and succeeded. "That depends. Are you? Because the way I see it, you don't believe any of that. And sure, maybe there was something you could have done, maybe there wasn't. What's the point of beating yourself up over it when there might still _be_ something you can do?"

I scoffed, turning away and cooling down once more. "It's over. There's nothing _left_ to do, and I'm not joining your little revenge party, thanks."

_I've had enough revenge for one life._

"So, what? You just want to sit up here on a mountain and cry until you freeze to death?"

"I'm _not_ crying."

"You might as well be."

I grit my teeth, before letting out a hot breath through my nose. _I really need to stop letting her get under my skin._ "What do you want me to do?"

"Me? Come with us, I suppose. I've grown curious about the woman who's gotten under Fury's skin. I'm usually the only one who can do that. But it doesn't matter what _I_ want. What is it you're trying to accomplish up here? Self-punishment? For what? The only one who blames you is yourself."

_Tony might blame me. Steve already does. Who __**knows**__ how the others feel… Maybe that's what I need, someone else to tell me it's my fault._ "If I go with you, will you leave me alone?"

"Perhaps. Depends on whether you prove my trip was worth it or not."

I shot her an annoyed look before snow landed on my nose, making me look up. "Fine, but only because a storm's coming in and I won't make it to my shelter if I'm stuck talking with you."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing my arm. "Definitely Stark's fiancée."

In a flare of blinding light, I stumbled, being held up by the blonde's arm as my body got used to having someone flown ridiculously quickly to the Avengers headquarters in under a minute. Once stable, I blinked and pulled up my goggles, giving her a once over as she let my arm go with a smirk.

"Holy shit."

"Language," a familiar voice chided, making me turn to see a smiling Steve, which made me stiffen, causing his smile to falter. "Jess. I really am sorry for how I acted before. With Bucky… I just…" He shook his head, coming forward. "It was stupid. I'm sorry."

I frowned a bit, not really expecting the apology—_though it __**is**__ Steve. I doubt the man can hold a grudge._ I leaned around him, spotting Natasha and Rhodey and eyeing them.

"And the rest of you? What do you think?"

Natasha shrugged. "I doubt you could have done anything to fix this, much less when a whole army couldn't."

Rhodey scratched at his chin. "I wasn't sure at first, but it seems stupid to place the blame on one person, doesn't it?"

I sighed, pulling off my hood with a hand a bit annoyed. "You lot are making this harder than I wanted it to be. Where's Tony?"

"Asleep," Steve replied. "Banner had to sedate him after he went off on Steve."

I shot Steve a look and he held up his hands.

"I was just asking if he got any information about where Thanos ran off to."

"He asked about you," Natasha added. "He was worried."

"Yeah, well…" I muttered, unsure about whether I should be glad or not.

I still had no idea what he felt as far as whose fault it was. His judgment scared me the most.

"So… where exactly _were_ you?"

"Huh? Oh." I pulled off my coat and outer layers. "Mount Everest."

"Mount _what!_" Rhodey squeaked out and I shot him a look.

"I'm capable of superheating myself and just took a vacation in Nepal recently where I actually had a chance to relax. I needed somewhere off-grid. No cameras, no cell reception, no people. Or, well, limited people. And when you're bundled up in enough layers, it's not like people can recognize you."

"Did you even _need_ to bundle up?" Natasha teased and I rolled my eyes.

"I walked up in a pair of shorts and a tank top, so no. Not really."

"Are you coming with us then?" Steve asked and I jabbed a finger over my shoulder.

"She won't let me ditch."

Captain Marvel smirked proudly before a blue woman cleared her throat.

"You want to know where Thanos is, or not?"

"Who's she?" I asked, earning a sigh from half the group as Natasha nodded to the meeting room.

"I'll give you a rundown."

* * *

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me," Nebula explained. "And when he worked, he talked about his Great Plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask, 'where would we go once his plan was complete?' And his answer was always the same." She moved to the table and leaned on it. "'To the Garden.'"

"That's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan."

"It's more than what most villains have," Jess commented. "Most just work their damnedest to get the plan finished. Don't give a second thought as to what they're going to do after."

"So, where is he?" Steve asked and Rocket brought up a hologram.

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it. Until two days ago, on this planet."

The image changed and Nebula confirmed.

"Thanos is there."

"Sipping margaritas on the beach," Jess sighed, tipping her chair back as Natasha eyed the image.

"He's used the stones again."

"Hey, hey, hey," Bruce stepped up, nudging Jess's chair back down. "We'd be going in shorthanded, you know."

Rhodey agreed. "Look, he's still got the stones, so—"

"So, let's get him," Captain Marvel cut in. "Use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah. Just like that," Steve agreed, noticing that Jess was being oddly silent now.

"Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this," Natasha brought up. "I mean, we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try."

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce asked, still having issues understanding how this was a different scenario.

"Because before, you didn't have me," Captain Marvel replied, earning disbelieving looks from the others.

"Hey, new girl? Everybody in this room is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?" Rhodey questioned her stiffly.

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

Thor, who'd also been quietly listening, got up and approached Captain Marvel, standing before her and summoning his ax right past her head. She didn't even flinch, staring him right in the eyes.

"I like this one," he commented, before Jess got up—chair scraping on the floor getting everyone's attention.

"Here's a question. What did he use the stones for the second time?"

The group frowned as she lifted a finger and spun the image of the planet, stopping it on the origin of the blast Thanos had let off.

"What does _that_ matter?" Rocket asked, stiffening when she glanced at him over the image.

"You're telling me that a man—who thought up this whole taking over the universe thing, _succeeded_, and retired with all-powerful stones—just used them again for no reason? He's obviously smart if he's gotten this far. He wouldn't use the stones again for anything ridiculous. Ignoring that would be stupid."

Rocket's nose crinkled at being called stupid, but he could see her point.

"What are you thinking, Jess?" Steve asked, wondering if she had an idea for what he used the stones for.

She turned, leaning against the table and eyeing Nebula. "What did you say his reasoning was for this whole Great Plan thing?"

"Cleaning the universe. His home planet was starving, and his solution was…"

"Genocide. Partial, anyway," Jess concluded, tipping her head back to eye the ceiling in thought. "I hate to say it, but I can see where he's coming from. Less people fighting for resources means more resources going around."

"Are you saying you're _fine_ with what he did?" Bruce gaped.

"Oh, no. Genocide has no excuse. He honestly should have looked into alternatives. Moving some people to another planet, creating genetically modified food. You know, all that sci-fi shit you see in movies before some alien apocalypse."

"Jess, please be serious," Steve sighed, and she rolled her eyes.

"Look. All I'm saying, is that based off what sort of idea he had for this Great Plan? I don't think he's stupid enough to use the stones again for any selfish reason."

"So, what did he use them for?"

"You're not gonna like it," Jess muttered, pushing off the table and moving over to peer out the window.

Steve wouldn't let it go though, coming up behind her. "Jess, anything you can tell us, it's important we know."

"If it were me? I'd destroy the stones."

Steve's eyes widened as the others looked shocked.

"What? Why?"

Rocket agreed. "Why would you want to get rid of all-powerful stones?"

Jess held up two fingers. "One? To prevent people like us going after him and using them against him after he's finally reached his goal."

"And the second reason?"

"Temptation. Thanos is almost… religious, in a sense. Everything was done for the self-preservation of a species. That was the only reason he went far enough to gain all this power, for one final swoop. Keeping them would only tempt him to alter things further, cause harm to his own plan. So, my guess is that the second power spike was him destroying the stones. There's literally no point in going after him. Not that there honestly was in the first place other than petty vengeance."

"Rude," Rocket grumbled.

Jess shrugged though, face colder and more expressionless than anything Steve had ever seen from her. She'd changed in this last month, and not for the better.

"Even if he had the stones and we took them, reversing everything, he'd just come back after us. We wouldn't destroy them, because that's just how we are. So, Thanos would gather his army and probably destroy the _entire_ planet just to get them back."

"Not if we killed him first," Thor declared, and Jess shot him an icy look.

"And how does that make you any better than him?"

Thor bristled, tightening his grip on his ax, though he swore it felt oddly heavy in his hands all of a sudden.

"We're still going after him," Steve declared, and Jess sighed.

"Then, leave me out of it. I want no part in this. Enough people have died."

She walked out, leaving a bitter taste in everyone's mouths, but they weren't about to back down now. And even once Thanos was dead—Jess having been proven right about the stones—not one of them felt any better about what happened.


	35. Chapter 35

Tony clapped his hands as he called out. "Chow time!"

He wandered over to the small tent set up in the large space in front of their cabin home near the outdoor tables and well within view of the ever-concerned eyes of the woman in the kitchen.

"Ash," he hummed, sitting on a miniature chair in front of the tent. "Ashley M. Stark, you want some lunch?" He tried again, remembering to use her full name like her mother did to ensure he had her attention.

A little girl popped out of the tent, wearing a blue and gold Iron Man helmet and a fake red Iron Man glove.

"Define lunch or be disintegrated."

Tony smiled. "Okay." He held his hand up before lightly chiding her. "You should not be wearing that, okay? That is part of a special anniversary gift I'm making for mom." He kissed the helmet and pulled it off, straightening the girl's brown hair so it didn't cover her bright green eyes—much like her mother's before she'd encountered the Tesseract. "There you go. You thinking about lunch? I can give you a handful of crickets on a bed of lettuce."

"No," the girl whined with a crinkle of her nose.

"That's what you want." He picked back up the helmet. "How did you find this?"

"Garage," she replied innocently.

"Really? Were you looking for it?" He pressed.

"No. I found it though."

"Hm." _Snooping then. Jess won't be thrilled when she's the one who placed the garage out of bounds._ "You like going in the garage, huh? So does daddy." Tony scooped her up and smiled. "What do you think? Think she'll like it?"

"Uh-huh," the girl beamed. "Does it go fast?"

"Oh, yeah," he chuckled, but his smile dropped when he reached the front porch to find a number of people he didn't want to see stepping out of a car in the drive.

He stepped up the stairs, gave them a look, but turned away before shooing Ashley off to join her mother while he listened to what they had to say.

"No. We know what it sounds like," Scott Lang said, after his brief explanation of what they wanted to try and do.

"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve pressed as Tony jumped in.

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?" He questioned, knowing neither one probably understood a word he'd just said and not really caring.

He was just glad Jess was still inside, or she might have something to say. _I'll have to make sure I keep my voice down._

"In layman's terms, it means you're not coming home."

"I did," Scott argued.

"No. You accidentally survived. It's a billion-to-one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull a… What do you call it?"

"Uh…" Scott struggled to come up with a name as Tony passed out drinks. "A time heist?"

"Yeah, a time heist. Of course," Tony chuckled. "Why didn't we think of this before? Oh! Because it's laughable. Because it's a pipe dream."

"The stones are in the past," Steve cut in, trying to help convince him. "We could go back, we could get them."

Natasha agreed. "We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everybody back."

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?" Tony countered.

"I don't believe we will."

"Gotta say it, I sometimes miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist," Tony said, sitting back down. "I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise."

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel," Scott argued, sitting beside him. "All right? It means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events."

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott," Tony said, losing his patience a little. "Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on _Back to the Future?_ Is it?"

Scott scoffed. "No."

"Good. You had me worried there, cos that'd be horseshit. That's not how quantum physics works."

"Tony," Natasha spoke up, voice tight, desperate. "We have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet, here we are."

"I know you got a lot on the line," Scott said. "You got a wife, a daughter, but I lost someone very important to me. A lotta people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. To bring _everyone_ back and you're telling me that you won't even—"

"That's right, Scott. I won't even," Tony said, cutting off the man as he started to raise his voice. "I can't."

The door opened and Ashley stepped out, climbing into Tony's arms.

"Mommy told me to come and save you."

Tony gave a brief glance at the door, but no Jess followed yet, allowing him a small breath of relief.

"Good job, I'm saved," he murmured to his daughter, looking to the others as he stood. "I wish you were coming here to ask me something else. Anything else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys. Oh, look. The table's set for six—"

"Tony," Steve stopped him, taking his arm briefly. "I get it. And I'm happy for you. I really am. But this is a second chance."

"I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can't roll the dice on it."

"And Jess?"

Tony's eyes narrowed. "You leave her out of this."

"Tony, she has just as much of a right to decide as you."

Tony fought to keep a tight hold of his anger, knowing his daughter was right there. "And you don't know how long it took me to put her back together after this mess happened. I _did_ lose somebody that day, you know. I lost her. All our progress, _everything_ was gone all because of those stupid stones and her fighting for everyone else instead of herself. _That's_ why I'm doing this. To keep her from having to go through that all over again."

Ashley tightened her grip around his neck, forcing him to calm down with a long breath before speaking again.

"If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch," he offered.

One last peace offering before he headed inside. Natasha huffed a bit, understanding but frustrated as they made to head back to the car.

"Well, he's scared."

"He's not wrong."

"I'll talk to him."

The group froze, turning around in surprise to see Jess leaning on the porch railing, having expertly dodged her husband and daughter's reentry into the house and slipping out the side door.

"Jess," Natasha breathed, relieved that at least she was on their side.

"He doesn't want you to," Steve pressed, not wanting her relationship with Tony to end up on the rocks because of their stubbornness.

"Since when was he the boss of me?" She challenged, standing upright and wiping her hands with a small towel to clear them of debris from cooking.

"Jess," he lightly chided, and she looked at him.

"Right before Strange showed up, we had a talk about wanting a kid. Getting a cabin in the woods and living life on the slow and safe side. My only worry was whether I'd end up the same kind of parent my dad was. That's it. Had nothing to with Iron Man or the Avengers or the dreams of the end of the world. And I know, even if this all changed, I'd still be willing to give him that. He had to convince me again anyway after that stupid breakdown I had."

Steve's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Stress, Steve. Nothing serious. Too many 'what ifs' that I didn't have answers to. I spent a week in his garage making a timeline chart of all the possibilities," she chuckled. "You can have it if you want. It almost reaches the end of the drive."

"Uh, no thanks."

"The thing is, nothing ever gave me the answer I wanted. The answer I _needed_ was that I did everything in my power that day to help. We _all_ did. And sure, we lost, but people out there are missing their Ashley's and their Tony's and their moms and dads. And Tony's scared of losing this life we have, but I'm more scared of losing _him._ Have you seen him? He's going _grey_, Steve. What am I supposed to do with that?"

Steve cracked a small smile, having missed Jess's sarcastic humor around the Avengers headquarters.

"He won't admit it, but he's bored. He's become idle and stressed and scared, and that's not Iron Man. That's not _Tony_." She placed the towel down on the railing and gave them one final smile. "I've got to help him somehow, and I know saving those people will help me do it the best."

"But your daughter…"

"I'll get a babysitter," she waved off. "She'll be thrilled to stay with Aunty Pepper for a while while we sort this out." Her expression fell though. "She's safer with them than getting dragged into this with us."

"Thank you, Jess," Steve murmured, knowing this was hard for her.

She nodded, lifting her hand in a wave. "I'll call you tomorrow morning. Tonight, if you're lucky."

They bid their farewells, but Scott was still a little worried.

"What do we do until then? We'll need as much time as we can get. We can't just wait."

"No, but I wanna do it right," Steve said firmly. "We're gonna need a really big brain."

* * *

Tony finished up the dishes, a bit frustrated with the hose that sprayed his face before his eyes caught on a picture frame of him and Peter. His heart ached and for a moment, he wondered what he was doing. Acting like this was the perfect life. He couldn't even do the dishes properly and Jess took care of most of the housework. Not that he wasn't capable, but… she had more experience in that than he did, even if it was only because of her slob of a father. She didn't seem happy though, not to him. She put on a smile and accepted it easily when he showed her the cabin he'd bought and the setup of the place. She was still hesitant around Ashley a bit, but he'd been helping her. It just felt as though… she was doing everything for him, and he didn't want that.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and moving to the table where he'd set up a hologram of what Ant-Boy had suggested. He couldn't help but be curious if the theory would work, but at the same time, he needed to make sure Jess wasn't around to see it. He knew she was suspicious at dinner and he'd managed to wave her off with half-truths, but if she saw what he was working on, he had no doubt she'd want to get involved.

"I can run one last sim before we pack it in for the night," he mused. "This time in the shape of a Mobius strip, inverted, please."

"_Processing,_" Friday replied as the image shifted into what he wanted.

"Right. Give me that eigenvalue. That particle factoring in spectral decomp. That'll take a second."

"_Just a moment,_" Friday confirmed.

"And don't worry if it doesn't pan out. I'm just kinda…" He was mostly convincing himself but talking to Friday helped when Jess wasn't around.

"_Model rendered_," Friday said, the result coming in and causing Tony to sink into his chair in shock at the "model successful" that flashed on the hologram.

"Shit," he breathed, only for a childish echo to startle him.

"Shit."

He whipped around, spotting a smirking Ashley sitting on the stairs. He brought a finger up to his mouth, shushing her, but the cheeky little girl just smiled.

"What are you doing up, miss?" He hissed under his breath, checking the stairs to make sure Jess wasn't around or they'd both be in trouble.

"Shit," she repeated.

"Nope. We don't say that. Only mommy says that word. She coined it. It belongs to her."

"Why are you up?" Ashley asked curiously.

"I've got some important shit going on here, what do you think?"

She shot him a disbelieving look—_got that from her mother—_and he huffed.

"Okay. I-I got something on my mind. I got something on my mind."

"Was it juice pops?" Ashley asked innocently and Tony couldn't help but smile.

_Definitely her mother's daughter._ "Sure was… That's extortion. That's another of your mom's words. What kind you want?" He asked, getting up and taking her hand. "Great minds think alike. Juice pops exactly was on my mind."

He gave a look back at the hologram, before turning it off to go get Ashley back in bed with her finished juice pop. Jess would have complained about him giving her snacks before bed, but it was better than her finding out about their little girl learning the "s" word. _Or my project._ He wiped Ashley's mouth with his shirt sleeve before pushing her back down onto her pillow.

"Tell me a story," she fussed.

"A story? Uh, once upon a time, Ashley went to bed. The end."

"That is a horrible story."

"Come on! That's your favorite story!" He countered with a cheeky smirk, leaning in and kissing her forehead. "Love you tons."

"I love you 3,000."

"Wow. 3,000. That's crazy," he breathed out, taking that in before leaving. "Go to bed, or I'll sell all your toys. Night, night." He spotted Jess downstairs, reading on the couch and smirked. "Not that it's a competition, but she loves me 3,000."

"Does she now," Jess hummed, not really looking up from her book.

"You were somewhere in the low six to nine hundred range."

Jess rolled her eyes as Tony glanced at the table nearby, chewing on the popsicle stick.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Oh, you'd like it, I think," Jess hummed. "Bit sci-fi. Written by this guy, David Deutsch."

Tony stiffened, whipping around in shock, only to find Jess eyeing him with a raised brow, lifting a remote and popping up his hologram.

"Having fun?" She asked, and he winced.

"You were listening?"

"Oh, I was doing more than that," she replied, getting up and coming up beside him.

She reached out, but hesitated, dropping her hand away from his tense shoulders as he refused to look at her.

"I figured it out, by the way," Tony muttered, moving away from her and to the hologram. "Time travel."

"I knew you would," Jess replied softly, eyeing his back as he leaned on the table with a heavy sigh. "We got lucky, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Lots of people didn't."

"I can't help everybody, and neither can you. Your therapist spent a lot of effort trying to get that through your head."

"Tony," Jess said, a bit shortly. "That's who you _are_. You're Iron Man. You're Tony Stark. All you've ever done your whole life is try to help people. Everyone, as much as you can. You're not doing that here."

"I'm helping _us_," he snapped, turning around with a glare. "I'm putting a pin in this right here. I'm stopping. I _have_ stopped!"

"And you're not happy!" Jess shouted in return, being quick to lower her voice. "I'm not stupid, Tony. This?" She gestured to the hologram. "This _proves_ that. You're bored, Tony. You're doing chores to try and keep busy, locking yourself in the basement just like before. You _need _to do this, to help."

"And what about us? I go back in time, I change everything, preventing Thanos from doing this and then what? All this will be _gone_, Jess! Don't you get that! No house in the woods, media everywhere, no Ashley? Do you want that?"

"N-No, but Tony—"

"No, you do, don't you? You never wanted this. This, this house, a kid. I get it. You did it all for me. That's why you're so willing to throw it all away," he scoffed, and Jess opened her mouth, closing it and pursing her lips, unable to get the words out. "See? You can't even deny it."

"I _love_ Ashley," Jess got out.

"Do you? I've not once heard you say that to her. I'm always the one telling her stories, playing with her, putting her to bed, and now you want to just throw this life away? Throw _her_ away?"

Jess teared up, gritting her teeth and clenching and unclenching her fists in a vain attempt to keep her emotions in check, and Tony did feel guilty about what he was saying, but he was scared. He was afraid of losing everything because of this decision and to him, it looked like Jess wasn't even the slightest bit worried.

"I-I'm doing my best," Jess croaked. "I-I don't know how to handle kids, and my father was—"

"Your father's _dead_, Jess! When are you going to stop letting him hover over your shoulder and dictate your every move!"

"And when are you going to stop doing the same!" She shouted back, making him flinch.

It was a low blow and he knew it. He'd been there when Jess finally got the courage to visit her mother's grave only to see her father's right beside it. He'd watched her turn from that strong, ever confident woman into a trembling mess at the sight of the man's gravestone. She'd finally been working past her father's hold on her, and he'd just brought it all back. And it felt like he was putting their relationship back to square one with this fight. It just didn't feel worth it. He was afraid of losing her the most. He didn't want to risk that. Not again.

"I don't want to lose you," he murmured, finally reaching out and taking her hand, hating that she flinched when he did. "I don't want to lose either of you."

"But I'm losing _you_," she breathed, voice cracking as her other hand reached up and pressed harshly against her teary eyes. "I-I love Ashley and you, a-and this house is really nice, but… but it's like you're wasting away. _I'm_ wasting away. I look out that window and wonder what we're going to do when Ashley has to leave our house and go out into a world that's struggling to move past what Thanos has done. I-I'm scared something else is going to happen and we won't be there to stop it. I don't want us to just, just be trapped in this house hiding from everything when there's a way we can fix it."

"We don't know if we can fix it," he pressed, trying to get her to see the dangers he knew were there.

"We can still try, a-and if it doesn't work out, then we'll try this again. It… It might not be the same—"

"It won't."

She winced and he bowed his head with a sigh.

"But you're right. We should try. We owe it to Ash to try." He reached out, brushing his fingers over Jess's cheek as she grimaced. "I'm sorry."

She let out a stuttering sigh, leaning into the touch, before moving in and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, too," she murmured into his chest and he held her tight, kissing the top of her head.

"You coming too?"

"…Do you want me to come?"

He smiled, pulling away and tipping her head up. "I wouldn't be able to do it without you."

* * *

The car sped down the road, tires screeching before pulling up just before Steve, who stared in blatant confusion. The car backed up a bit, before Tony got out of the passenger seat, leaning on the roof of the car.

"That is the last time I let you drive."

Jess huffed, climbing out of the driver's side. "You said we were in a hurry because they could rip apart space-time or some other nonsense."

"It wasn't nonsense! It was a real possibility!" Tony argued, before looking to Steve. "Why the long face? Hold on let me guess. He turned into a baby?"

"Among other things, yeah. What are you two doing here?"

"It's the EPR paradox," Tony drawled, stepping around the car as Jess rolled her eyes.

"He's been spouting words like that the whole drive. Then, you ask him to explain and he just rambles on about a dozen books I need to read to understand it." Jess shot him a look. "Please tell me you have coffee."

Steve cracked a smile, glad to have her back. "Of course. You forgot to call, you know."

"Tony took my phone. Said he wanted it to be a surprise."

"Uh, weren't we talking about time travel?" Tony interjected as Jess shot Steve an "I told you" look. "Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might have wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky, dangerous. Somebody could have cautioned you against it."

"You did," Steve reminded him, though it was obvious Tony was just trying to guilt him, and Jess grabbed him by the ear.

"Ow! Jess! We talked about this! My ears are sensitive!"

"And I told _you_ that we came to help, not guilt-trip everyone. Show him."

"Show me what?" Steve asked and once Jess had let go of Tony's ear, he held up a device on his hand.

"A fully functioning time-space GPS," Tony explained, cracking a smile to match Steve's. "I just want peace."

Jess cleared her throat and Tony sighed.

"And Jess wouldn't let up until I agreed."

Steve raised a brow and Jess shook her head.

"I had the same problem with Ashley's name."

"How was it a problem? I still think it's cute," Tony huffed, moving to the trunk of the car.

"It was until you explained to me after I signed off on it that you wanted to call her Ashley specifically so you could nickname her Ash."

"I don't understand," Steve questioned, and Jess shot him a look.

"It's a pun because I'm the Phoenix and have fire powers that turn things to ash."

"Still, it got you to laugh." Tony smiled innocently as Jess grumbled with another shake of her head.

Steve couldn't help but chuckle as well, clapping Jess on the shoulder. "Well, it's good to have you both here to help."

"Hey, hands off the wife," Tony chided Steve, who held up his hand in mock surrender. "And save what we lost is the plan, but I want to keep what I have and preferably not die trying."

"Sounds like a plan," Steve answered, only for Tony to pull out his shield from the trunk. "Tony, I don't know."

"Why? He made it for you and honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before Ash takes it sledding."

Steve took it and smiled. "Thank you, Tony. Jess."

"Will you keep that a little quiet," Tony muttered. "I didn't bring enough for the whole team. We _are_ getting a whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now."

"Then, it's a good thing I came," Jess replied, tapping her laptop under her arm. "Seeing as I'm the only one who knows where everyone is."

Steve cracked another smile. "We've gotten a hold of most, though some are proving more stubborn than others."

"Again, aren't you glad I'm here? If I can handle him, I'm sure I can deal with stubborn," Jess snorted, nudging Tony who wrinkled his nose.

They stepped inside as some of said people landed, including Nebula, Rhodes, and Rocket and Jess let out a soft sigh as she lifted a hand in greeting to those in the kitchen getting tacos.

"Hey, Rhodey."

"Hey, Jess. Good to see you… well, you know, not arrested."

"That's been sorted," Tony said, eyes sharp. "Needless to say, Secretary Ross is no longer in charge."

"Oof, politics," Rocket grumbled, hopping up next to Jess. "Who're you again?"

Jess lifted a brow, giving him a once-over. "Jess… Since when were aliens raccoons?"

"Since when were raccoons only an Earth thing?" Rocket challenged, making Jess smirk.

"Touché."

Rocket gave her a toothy grin, before looking over to Nebula. "I like her."

"Oi, we're married, rat," Tony huffed, shooting him a warning look.

"You? With _her_?" Rocket turned back to Jess. "How'd you end up with this lump?"

"I know. Shocking, isn't it?" Jess joked, shooting Tony a teasing grin as he rolled his eyes. "So, we're missing Clint, Thor, and that Marvel woman, right?"

"Carol said she was going to be helping other planets for now," Natasha replied. "And Clint…"

Jess let out a low whistle. "He's been busy."

"Jess," Steve chided, making her wince.

"Sorry. Nerves. I'll, uh… I'll run a program to see if there's any pattern to the people he's choosing. In the meantime, I've got an idea on where Thor is. Who's going to join me?"

"_You're_ going?" Steve questioned.

"Again, I'm used to dealing with the stubborn and it's been a while. He might want a spar."

Steve sighed and Jess cracked a small nervous smile.

"Sorry. What I mean is, he might need someone to knock him about a bit and… I think I understand the most what he's going through."

"You'll be okay?" Steve asked and Tony scoffed, coming up beside her.

"Course she will."

Steve nodded, moving away to go talk with some of the others and find out who else would go with her, giving her a chance to speak with Tony.

"It might be a while."

"Yeah, well… it's just like you to run off with an overgrown Viking," Tony teased, making her snort and kiss him lightly.

"I'll try to get back as soon as I can. No fighting, please."

"No promises," he hummed, getting in another kiss as she lightly slapped his arm. "And I'll do my best too, by the way. To get the machine up and working."

She smiled. "I know you will. You're Iron Man, after all."

"And you're a Stark too, so I know you'll do your best too."

Jess wrinkled her nose. "Still weird. Jess Stark?"

"I think it sounds perfect," Tony purred, only for Rocket to interrupt.

"Oi, lovebirds! Let's go!"

Jess pat Tony's arm, getting him to reluctantly let her go. "Love you 3,000."

Tony beamed. "Love you more."


	36. Chapter 36

"Kind of a step down from a golden palace and magic hammers and whatnot," Rocket commented when we got off the truck leading into New Asgard.

"Thor's never really cared about those things," I mused, and Banner agreed.

"Hey, have a little compassion, pal. First, they lost Asgard, then half their people. They're probably just happy to have a home."

"You shouldn't have come," a young woman called out, making Banner grin.

"Ah, Valkyrie. Good to see you, angry girl."

"I think I liked you better either of the other ways."

"I said the same thing," I muttered, offering her a hand. "Jess Stark and this is Rocket."

"How ya doin'?" Rocket greeted, getting a look before her gaze went back to Banner.

"He won't see you."

"It's that bad, huh?"

"We only see him once a month when he comes in for… supplies."

I sighed when she looked to the barrels of beer off to the side, starting up the pier. "Which house is his?"

"Weren't you listening? He won't see you."

"He won't have a choice. Trust me," I answered, eyes flaring gold for a brief moment as I walked.

Banner chuckled awkwardly behind me, apologizing to Valkyrie and soon catching up, pointing out Thor's house. "C-Could we at least _try_ to talk to him before we burn his house down?"

"He'll have five minutes to open the door before he loses the door," I replied, not really in the mood to deal with a full-grown man having a temper tantrum.

Rocket knocked twice, before pushing the unlatched door open, leading us into what could only be the home of someone who'd very much let himself go.

"What the… Whoo! Something died in here," Rocket commented at the smell.

"Yeah, someone's dignity," I grumbled.

"Hello? Thor?" Banner called out as we stepped further in, hearing him finally call out.

"Are you here about the cable? The Cinemax went out two weeks ago. The sports are all kind of fuzzy."

We glanced at the shirtless, overweight man as he went and grabbed a beer with a golem-looking fellow and some sort of worm.

"Thor?"

Thor held out his arms with a false smile. "Boys! Oh my God. Oh my God, it's so good to see you!" Thor hugged Banner and went for Rocket. "Come here you little rascal!"

"No, no! I'm good! I'm good! T-That's not necessary!" Rocket complained at Thor's noogie, whereas he hadn't noticed me yet, standing just behind Banner.

"Hulk, you know my friends. Miek and Korg, right?"

"Hey boys!"

"Hey, guys. Long time no see," Banner greeted, giving me a look over his shoulder uneasily.

"Beer's in the bucket. Feel free to log into the wifi. No password, obviously," Korg said, before touching his headphones. "Thor, he's back. The kid on the TV that called me a dickhead again."

"Noobmaster," Thor grumbled.

"Yeah, Noobmaster69. Called me a dickhead again."

Thor took the headphones and mic, chewing out the kid angrily. "Noobmaster? Yeah, it's Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder? Listen, buddy. If you don't log off this game immediately, I am gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you're hiding in, rip off your arms and shove them up your butt! Oh, that's right. Yes, go cry to your father, you little weasel!"

"Thank you, Thor," Korg smiled.

"Let me know if he bothers you again, okay?"

"Thank you very much. I will."

"So, you guys want a drink? What are you drinking?" Thor beamed. "We have beer, tequila, all sorts of things."

My eye twitched when he popped open his beer bottle on his ax and I'd finally had enough. I stepped around Banner, grabbing the cord to the TV and yanking it out of the wall.

"Hey! Thor, something just happened to the…" Korg trailed off as he caught sight of me leaning against said TV holding the plug with blazing golden eyes.

"Get out."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Korg stuttered, dropping his controller and headphones, grabbing Miek and rushing out of the hut as Thor scowled.

"What'd ya do that for? Why is she here?" Thor questioned Banner, who rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

"Uh, intervention?"

"Why? I'm fine. Don't I look all right?"

"You look like melted ice cream," Rocket argued.

"I'm fine. Why are you here anyway?"

"We need your help," Banner explained as I dropped the cable and folded my arms over my chest, waiting for my turn to lay into Thor and get him seeing some common sense. "There might be a chance we could fix everything."

"What? Like the cable?" Thor burped. "'Cause that's been driving me bananas for weeks."

"Like Thanos," Banner corrected, and that goofy smile slid off Thor's face before he grabbed Banner and pointed at him.

"Don't say that name."

"Please take your hand off me," Banner said calmly. "Now, I know that... guy might scare you."

"Why would I be? Why would, why would I be scared of that guy? I'm the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy? Nope. Didn't think so."

"I get it. You're in a rough spot, okay? I've been there myself. You wanna know who helped me out of it?"

"I don't know. Is it... Natasha?"

"It was you. You helped me."

"Why don't you ask the Asgardians down there, how much my help was worth. The ones that are left, anyway," Thor grumbled, dropping into a chair.

"I think we can bring them back."

"Stop. Stop, okay? I know you think I'm down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and, and saved. But I'm fine, okay? So, whatever it is that you're offering, I'm not into it, don't care, couldn't care less. Goodbye."

"We need you, pal."

There was a shattering of glass that made Thor's eyes go wide.

"W-What are you doing!"

I dropped the now empty beer bucket onto the floor, having just dumped what was it in out the window. "Oh, sorry. Do I have your attention now?" I asked, not even flinching as he stormed towards me, glaring down at me angrily but with none of the bite the old Thor would have had.

"Get out of my house, Jess."

"See, that's exactly why I'm not leaving," I quipped, not backing down. "You called it a house."

"So?"

"Isn't this your home?" I asked, watching his expression falter before he abruptly turned away.

"I'll just go to the docks and get more."

"Nope. I've just ensured that no more alcohol is to land in the port of New Asgard until further notice."

"You can't do that!"

"Just did," I replied, lifting my phone, which he promptly took from me and crushed in his hands with a smirk.

"No, you didn't."

I blinked slowly. "You _do_ realize that destroying my phone won't stop the text I already sent, right?"

He slammed a fist onto the mantel of the fireplace right next to me, making Banner take a step forward.

"Jess, maybe we should—"

"No," I stopped him, not taking my eyes off Thor. "I'm not leaving until he's got it through his thick skull that we're not leaving without him. We have a chance to stop all this from happening, and you want to just wallow in what? I won't even call it self-pity, because that's not what this is, is it? None of us could have stopped him. Even if you went and chopped off his head the moment you first met. This was always going to happen, Thor. Thanos was always going to come down here and cause mayhem. People were going to die and what makes you think that this is your fault? Huh? Your whole damn _planet_ couldn't stop him, and you think you by yourself could?"

Thor grabbed the front of my shirt and still, I didn't flinch. "You don't know anything," he growled as Banner made to step in again.

"Don't," I stopped him. "He won't hurt me."

"You don't know that," Thor snapped. "I could throw you through this wall if I wanted."

"I'm sure you could, but you won't. You're still Thor under all this bravado, and you're honestly acting like Tony right now. Acting like the worst possible person you can be to make everyone hate you and leave you alone because that's what you feel you deserve. Am I right?" I asked, seeing on his face that I was. "You think none of us are blaming ourselves for this mess? Tony has nightmares of being unable to stop Thanos. Bruce had to work to get Hulk to behave because _he_ was afraid of Thanos. Hell, I had visions of all this shit happening and willingly went to the Fridge because I felt I deserved to be punished for letting this happen when I _knew _it would happen! I was told I could fucking stop it, Thor, and you think I'm just sitting around wallowing on my ass now that half the universe is gone? Who does that help! What good does it do anyone to sit around like a blob of jello when we finally have the chance to make things right!"

Thor hesitated. "It… It's not that easy."

I scoffed. "Easy? Who the hell said it would be easy? You think we'd have dragged our asses down here to get you if it were easy? Don't be stupid. Now, let's go. Get your things, grab your ax and let's fix this because I'm tired of feeling useless when there's finally something I can do. Got it?" I shoved his ax into his fumbling hands, only for the significance of that to make everyone's eyes widen.

"Well, shit," Rocket muttered as I blinked.

"You know what? I'm just going to forget that happened." My eyes narrowed at Bruce and Rocket. "And if either of you tell Tony and the others, I'll maim you. Got it?"

"Don't need to tell me twice," Rocket answered, looking to Thor. "So, you coming?"

Thor looked at the ax in his hands and over to me, as I shot him a raised brow. _Aren't you?_ Slowly, he nodded, cracking the slightest of smiles.

"Yes. I'll come."

"Good. I really didn't want to throw out _all_ the alcohol when we got back," I huffed, earning a wince from the others as we stepped out. "How do you think Natasha's doing with Clint?"

Banner winced. "Honestly? I'm almost worried for him."

I snorted as we climbed into the ship and headed back to headquarters.

* * *

I stepped into the area where Lang was getting ready, scolding Banner for something or another.

"These are Pym particles, all right? And ever since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it. This is what we have. We're not making any more."

Rhodey held up his hands. "Calm down."

"Sorry," Lang apologized as I rolled my eyes, leaning against the wall and just listening in.

Tony had banned me from helping him after I'd nearly lost a finger with the laser saw. Just the thought of it had me rubbing at my eye. Between the stress from Thanos and getting older, I had more problems with it than before.

"Wait, wait, wait a sec. Let me ask you something," Rhodey cut in, making me realize I'd zoned out long enough for Clint to take Lang's place in the testing suit. "If we can do this… You know, go back in time. Why don't we just find baby Thanos, you know and…" He made the motion of strangling and Banner and I exchanged looks.

"First of all, that's horrible," Banner said with a wrinkle of his nose.

"It's _Thanos_."

"And secondly, time doesn't work that way. Changing the past doesn't change the future."

Lang jumped in before I could explain. "Look. We go back, get the stones before Thanos gets them. Thanos doesn't have the stones. Problem solved."

"Bingo," Clint agreed.

"That's not how it works," Nebula argued as I nodded.

"She's right. Time's not linear. Just because you change point A doesn't mean point C is the same just without Thanos."

"Well, that's what I heard," Clint argued.

"What? By who?" Banner questioned and I groaned.

"Every movie ever."

"Star Trek, Terminator, Time Cop, Time After Time," Rhodey listed off with Lang and Clint jumping in every once in a while, with their own movie references.

"I don't know why everyone believes that, but that is not true. Think about it. If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former present becomes your past. Which can't now be changed by your new future."

"Exactly," Nebula said, though I could see the gears turning in their heads.

"So, Back to the Future is a bunch of bullshit?"

"Look. Back to the Future is what would happen if time was linear. You kill someone ten years ago, they don't exist ten years in the future that you still live in, just without that person. This is different. Say we go back in time and find baby Thanos," I drawled, using Rhodey's example. "Now, Thanos never destroyed half the population, never destroyed Asgard, never found the stones, sure. But he also never had Nebula and her sister and never caused the Battle of New York which then gave way to creating new heroes, new alliances, new experiences. But the thing is, the moment we go back, we're not rewriting anything. The snap still happened. Half the universe is still dead, but now we have the stones _here_. That's what we're trying to do. Besides, we kill Thanos, then what? Someone else could take his place. Maybe we ended up in a timeline where he turns out to be a good person, who knows? Either way, it wouldn't change the snap. We need the stones to reverse it."

"You do know your explanation didn't exactly clear things up," Clint muttered, and I sighed.

"This. This is why I got married to Tony. He may act like an idiot, but at least he can keep up."

"Hey," Clint grumbled as I waved at him and stepped away.

"Missed you, Clint."

I heard a muttered complaint, but Clint didn't have long to worry about it before he was trying out the device we'd finished. It was a tense couple of minutes before he returned and when he confirmed it worked, we knew we had to get to planning.

"Okay. So, the 'how' works," Steve said, taking charge of our planning meeting. "Now, we've got to figure out the 'when' and the 'where'.' Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

"Or substitute the word 'encounter' for 'damn near been killed' by one of the six Infinity Stones," Tony jumped in.

"I haven't," Lang announced. "But I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about."

"Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history."

"_Our_ history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in, you know?" Tony added.

"Which means we have to pick our targets," Clint concluded.

"Correct."

"Let's start with the Ether. Thor, what do you know?" Steve said, but Thor didn't move and remained silent.

"Is he asleep?" Natalie asked.

"No, no. I'm pretty sure he's dead," Rhodey quipped, and I let out a heavy sigh.

"Thor, you've got three seconds to get off your ass and help, or I'm throwing out all the alcohol in this entire building."

"I'm up, I'm up," he grunted, pushing himself out of his chair and heading over to the image of the Reality Stone. "Uh, where to start. Um, the Ether firstly is not the stone. Somebody called it a stone before. It's sort of an angry sludge sort of thing, so someone's gonna need to amend that and stop saying that," he said, putting in eye drops.

"Speed it up Thor, and I'll let you have one drink when you're finished," I drawled, fingers typing away notes on my tablet and he perked up.

"Well, long story short, I had this old flame of mine, Jane who put her hand in a rock and the Ether sort of went into her. I then had to take her to Asgard to get her healed."

I pointed to the door. "Go eat some breakfast and I'll give you access to Friday who will provide one drink of choice."

"Excellent," he hummed, bounding out as Rhodey let out a long whistle.

"You certainly have him on a leash."

I snorted. "I know what he wants, and I've got complete control over his access to it. Carrot and the stick."

Rocket leaned over towards Tony. "And you _married_ her?"

"I get something better than carrots," Tony teased, and Steve cleared his throat, ending the conversation before my ears could get any redder.

Rocket was next, followed by Nebula and the others as we ate our dinner. Tony had gone to bed early, knowing he'd need to be working for an unknown amount of time on the machine and offered me a chance to join him, but I waved him off, wanting some time to myself and to look up more of what I could on the stones. With all of us having a quick run-down of the stones, who had them and where, it only came down to picking the time to get them. I had a computer program trying to line them all up by the time I'd gotten up to get more coffee. I hadn't expected to find Steve sitting at the table with a glass of water.

"Can't sleep?" He asked, seeing that I was getting coffee instead of something less likely to keep me up.

"Insomnia," I replied, being honest as I grabbed a clean mug from the cupboard. "Was diagnosed after the snap, though my therapist thinks it's been an on-going thing for much longer." I waved vaguely at my head. "Nightmares."

"You mean, your visions," he concluded, and I hummed.

"That too."

"I… I really am sorry for what I said back then. Blaming you wasn't right, no matter what I was feeling at the time."

"Steve, we settled this ages ago," I complained, shooting him a look as I leaned back against the countertop. "I'm not upset. I'm sure someone told you guys, but I _wanted_ you to blame me. It's always easier to blame someone else than yourself, and I'd rather you lot took it out on me than wallow in self-pity like Mr. Demi-God did."

"That doesn't make what I did right," he declared, eyes serious.

"Well, no, but it doesn't change anything either. People died. We're all mourning someone or something. And the only person we can truly blame is the man who did the act himself."

"You didn't even want to go after him."

I shrugged. "I know what it's like to want to get revenge on someone. I know how it eats away at you afterward. How you finally feel like you accomplished something only to step back and realize hurting them did nothing to make you feel any better."

His gaze softened. "You're… not talking about Thanos."

I cracked a grimace of a smile. "My father was an abusive alcoholic after my mother passed away. He couldn't _stand_ even looking at me because I reminded him too much of her. I lived with him for years, before we got into a car accident. A car accident that… wasn't entirely an accident. He died. I'd wanted to die, but was all right in the end and you know what? Nothing changed. I still felt like he was there for years after the fact. I still flinched away when someone moved too fast or shrank back when people shouted. I couldn't form relationships because I always felt that I would screw it up somehow, just like father always told me. Hurting him never made me feel better; it only made me feel worse.

"So, yeah. As much as I hate Thanos for what he did, and as badly as I want to make sure he pays for what he's done… Killing him wouldn't change the fact that it's happened. Took me a while to figure that out, but I did. There was no point in blaming myself for not being able to do anything because nobody else could have stopped him either. Worlds and armies had already fallen by his hand. What could one single person like me do? Foreknowledge or not?"

"You're not alone, Jess," Steve declared, standing as I got my cup of coffee and smiled at him, taking him aback.

"Course not. Like I said, no point in blaming myself for trying to do something impossible on my own. Tony's been trying to get me to figure that out for a long time, but everything with my father kept holding me back. Did you know? He's actually rather upset with Doctor Strange for helping me through most of that thinking in Nepal. You think you and him in a room together is bad? Him and Strange together is practically a circus."

"So… what do you think now?" Steve asked, curious.

"Now? Now, I know better. Saying it sounds a bit cheesy, but I've got you guys to back me up. I may not be able to change the future on my own but figuring this mess out together always seems to work in the end, right?"

Steve smiled. "You've certainly changed."

"Please," I scoffed. "I'm still going to give you guys shit for being idiots. The only difference is that now I won't be able to get away from you all."

"Thanks, Jess. For everything."

There was a rap on the door and we both turned to see a suspicious, worn-out looking Tony leaning against the doorframe.

"Should I be worried about my marriage, Captain?"

Steve cracked another smile, holding up his hands. "No, sir."

I just rolled my eyes. "I'll be with you in a second, Tony."

"Not with another cup of coffee, you won't," he argued, nodding behind him. "Your computer is going off."

"Oh, scan must be finished," I chirped, ducking under his arm after giving him a kiss on the cheek in thanks.

"Scan?" Steve questioned as they both followed.

"Trying to see if any of the times and places of the stones lined up. Figured that if we can find a cluster of them, even two in the same place and time, might make things easier. We're limited on people, so having one person going after a stone on their own is a risk, especially with who knows how many others chasing them." I picked up my laptop and settled on the couch. "Bigger the groups we split up into, better the chance of a plan going well, and us getting a… stone."

"What? What is it?"

I stared in surprise at the results. "There's three."

"Three?" Steve asked, him and Tony coming up behind me to look over my shoulder at the screen.

"Three stones in New York all during that battle in 2012. You better wake up the others early. We've got to come up with a plan."

* * *

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams. You know your missions. Get the stones. Get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs," Steve explained as we all got ready to go, standing on the finished platform of our makeshift time machine. "Most of us are going somewhere we know. That doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives and we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

Rocket smirked. "He's pretty good at that."

"Right?" Lang beamed in return as I sighed.

"That's why he's in charge."

Rocket shot me a look. "I thought _you_ were in charge."

"Oh, she is," Tony answered, looping an arm around my waist and kissing my jaw. "But Steve's better at motivational speeches. Jess is more of the… crack the whip type."

"Hot."

"Oi," I complained, lightly kicking at Rocket's leg that he nimbly dodged with a chuckle.

"What? It's a compliment. If you ever get bored with tinman, you know where to find me."

"Yeah, I don't do raccoons."

"Don't knock it till you try it."

"Yeah, this conversation needs to stop now, before I vomit all over you," Natasha groaned in complaint.

"Just having a bit of fun, Nat," I chuckled.

"You? Fun? Didn't know you were capable of that," she teased as Banner stepped up after getting the machine ready. "See ya in a minute."

Our helmets came on as the machine started up, throwing us out and separating the three groups. Rhodey, Clint, Natasha, and Nebula were to get dropped off on the planet Morga to deal with the Soul Stone on Vormir and the Power Stone there. Rocket and Thor were sent to Asgard for the Reality Stone and the rest of us were back during the Battle of New York to split up and get the Mind, Space and Time Stones.

"All right, we all have our assignments," Steve announced the moment we landed, and our suits shifted to reflect our clothes. "Two stones uptown, one stone down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock."

There was a roar then and we turned to watch the Hulk smash an alien with a car, stomp on it angrily and throw a tire at another. Banner sheepishly brought his hand up to his face and Steve shot him a look.

"Maybe smash a few things along the way."

"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever," Banner replied, tearing off his shirt and giving half-hearted roars as he punched a car roof and threw a motorcycle.

Tony pulled me away briefly as we started to split up, brushing a hand over my face as I rolled my eyes at the action. "Stay safe?"

"I'm going to meet a wizard. You lot are the ones who need to stay safe."

He smirked. "That's my girl."

He kissed me with a hint of desperation before pulling away and running off with the others as I sighed. _Let's just hope this goes well._

"Banner, let's go!" I called out, making him stop his half-hearted rampage and head over. "Give me a lift?"

He raised a brow. "Don't you have your suit?"

"Yeah, but why bother? We're going to talk, not fight."

"Steve's right."

"What's that?" I asked, climbing onto his back and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You've mellowed out. Or, well, that's what he said. He wasn't really there when you chucked out Thor's booze."

I snorted. "Shut up and go."

We flew along the rooftops before landing on top of the New York Sanctum and he allowed me to slide off his back as he went for the doors in.

"I'd be careful going that way," a familiar voice called out. "We just had the floors waxed."

My gaze softened at the sight of the Ancient One and I hardly realized that Banner had stepped forward to speak with her.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Doctor Strange."

"You're about five years too early," she replied, eyeing him and giving me a brief look as well. "Stephen Strange is currently performing surgery about twenty blocks that way. What do you want from him?"

I went to explain, but Banner must have been channeling his inner Hulk and continued to take charge of the situation… poorly.

"That, actually."

"Ah! I'm afraid not."

"Sorry, but I wasn't asking."

"Bruce," I muttered, warning him as she did much the same when he approached.

"You don't want to do this."

"Ah, you're right, I don't. But I need that stone and we don't have time to debate it." He reached for it and I sighed heavily as the Ancient One slammed a palm forward and knocked him out of his body.

His astral self gaped in shock as she calmly eyed him.

"Let's start over, shall we?" She smiled, turning her attention to me. "You seem to carry more common sense than your compatriot. Shall we discuss things?"

A flash of pain went through me. "You don't know who I am?"

Her head tipped to the side. "Should I?"

"Well, you knew Strange, but I suppose it's a bit presumptuous of me to assume. Jess Stark," I introduced with a slight bow of respect. "Or, well. Jess Norris when I met you. Meet you?" My brows furrowed. "Should I talk in past tense or future?"

She cracked the slightest of smiles. "Whichever you prefer. How do you know Strange and me if we've never met and aren't supposed to meet?"

I ran a hand through my hair, giving the sky a brief glance and knowing time was short. "It's a… bit of a long story but the gist of it is I was traveling in Nepal and the sanctum locked me in during a rainstorm. You took a liking to me. Strange happened to be there and we sort of saved the world from falling into—" I stopped suddenly. "Ah… that's… a future I probably shouldn't have spoiled. As for you not knowing me…" I cracked a sad smile. "I'm not meant to exist in this universe."

"Impossible," she argued, but as she looked me over, I could tell she understood that as being the only possible explanation. "But apparently truth."

"Jess, we don't have time for this!" Banner complained and I waved at him.

"We have time. Our plan is far simpler than Tony's. Simpler means less likely to get messed up, fewer holes. I don't doubt we'll get the stone."

The Ancient One shot me a look at my confidence before I suddenly scowled down at the necklace.

"Don't laugh at me."

"Excuse me?" She questioned.

"Not you, the stone," I grumbled. "It thinks this is funny."

"You can communicate with it?"

"With all of them, yeah. That one—" I pointed at the stone. "—likes me the most."

"Look, we really need the stone," Banner piped up, hovering over my shoulder. "The fate of the universe depends on it! This guy, he takes all the stones and obliterates half the universe. We came back in time to get the stones to reverse it!"

"I'm sorry. I can't help you, Bruce," the Ancient One said, walking to the other side of the roof. "Nor you, Jess. If I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own."

"With all due respect, all right," Banner said, chasing after her as I sighed. "I'm not sure the science really supports that."

The Ancient One swept a hand in front of us, revealing a line through the sky. "The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one of the stones—" She flicked an image of the stone off the line, forming a second. "—and that flow splits. Now, this may benefit your reality, but my new one, not so much. In this new branch reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. So tell me, Doctor, Jess. Can your science prevent all that?"

"No," Banner said before I could say my piece. "But we can erase it. Because once we're done with the stones, we can return each one to its own timeline at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically, in that reality—" He plucked the stone and put it back, getting rid of the second line. "—it never left."

The Ancient One walked away and the image vanished. "Yes, but you're leaving out the most important part. In order to return the stones, you have to survive."

"We will. I will. I promise," Banner said.

"I can't risk this reality on a promise. It's a duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the Time Stone."

"Strange gave it away," I said then, making her turn to me in shock.

"What did you say?"

"Strange was with us when we fought Thanos. Tony—Iron Man was there with him and said Strange looked into over fourteen billion realities, searching for the chances of success and said he only found one," I explained, eyeing her. "Iron man said that Strange swore he would protect the stone even if it meant that everyone there died, but he gave it to Thanos."

"Willingly?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he made a mistake," Banner said.

"Or I did," she murmured, making me raise a brow as she put Banner back into his body.

"I have a theory."

"What?" Banner gaped at me in stunned shock and I held up a hand.

"It's not like Strange to make a mistake. He's a narcissistic perfectionist. He had a plan when he gave up the stone. My guess? In order for the one reality where we win to happen, he _had_ to give up the stone. This isn't on you, Ancient One," I said, not willing to have her blame herself for this like so many of the others.

She watched me for a moment before opening her necklace and holding out the stone.

"Strange is meant to be the best of us."

"He is," I smiled as she placed the stone in my hand and left hers on top of mine. "Or, you know, the best with attitude."

She smiled a little as well. "Sounds like him. You two get along, I hope."

"Oh, yeah," I waved off. "I bother him all the time for good tea."

Her eyes met mine then seriously. "I'm counting on you, Jess."

"Wouldn't be the first time," I murmured.

"We all are."

"Then, I'm sorry for this."

Her eyes widened as I stepped forward, hugging her tightly before she understood and lightly held me in return. I backed up, clearing my throat awkwardly and looking at Banner.

"Let's take this back."

He nodded and I gave the Ancient One a final bow of respect before we flashed back to our time. _And let's hope nothing went wrong._


	37. Chapter 37

We all landed in one piece, our suits disappearing to leave us in our clothes once more as I looked around the group—checking for injuries or anything else.

"Did we get 'em all?"

"Are you telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey grinned in disbelief.

"Hold on. Where's—" I was cut off as Clint fell to his knees, eyes red with tears and a devastated look on his face. "Clint, where's Natasha?"

He was silent, just looking at us and trying to hold back his emotions as understanding dawned on us. Banner slammed a fist to the ground, and I swallowed thickly, mind stalling as I realized at the cost these stones came with.

"L-Let's…" I cleared my throat, doing my best to hold it together for the team, especially Banner and Clint, knowing they needed it the most. "Let's move somewhere else. I'll… I'll get something to drink for everyone."

Tony saw where I was going with this, helping to usher everyone out to the pier over the lake to deal with what happened. _Was there nothing I could have done? _I wondered as I poured coffee and alcohol into various glasses. _I know I wasn't with them, but surely there must be something I could do. Maybe I could ask the stones? Seems a bit silly, but… I could just try, right?_ I blinked back tears, not knowing when I'd started crying and hastily wiped them away. I wanted to be strong for the others. They'd known her far longer than I had. I could mourn later. _She'd want me to help them._

I took the drinks out to them, setting them on a table for the group to take what they wanted, though I knew most of them would probably remain untouched.

"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asked, trying to be logical and Steve nodded solemnly.

"Yeah. Us."

"What?" Thor questioned, eyeing the two.

"Huh?"

"W-What are you doing?"

"I just asked him a question," Tony replied as I stood, seeing trouble brewing in the tension between them.

"Yeah, no, you're acting like she's dead. Why are we acting like she's dead?" Thor demanded. "We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back. Isn't that right? So, stop this _shit._ We're the Avengers. Get it together."

"Thor," I cut in, voice sharp and he turned to me with a frown just as Clint spoke up.

"We can't get her back. It can't be undone. It can't."

Thor chuckled bitterly. "Look, I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being, okay? And we're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, look. I know that I'm way outside my pay grade here, but she still isn't here, is she?"

"No, that's my point."

"It can't be undone," Clint repeated, voice cracking and growing louder. "Or, that's at least what the red, floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer and you go fly and you talk to him!"

I grabbed Clint's arm, calming him down a bit and he looked away.

"It was supposed to be me," he croaked out. "She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone."

"No, she didn't," I murmured, squeezing his arm. "She did it so you wouldn't have to. Clint, she wanted you to get your life back. She wanted you to go back to your wife and kids. Even if we could go back and stop her from doing it, she'd fight us the whole way because that's who she is. She bet her life on that stone bringing back all of _our_ lives. We owe her for that. All of us."

"Jess is right," Banner said after throwing a bench in frustration. "We have to make her sacrifice worth it. We have to."

"We will," Steve agreed, and I let Clint go once I was sure he'd calmed down enough.

"Thank you," he murmured under his breath before he turned to head back.

"I'll…" My voice stopped him, and I clenched and unclenched my fist. "I'll try and talk to the stones. Maybe… Maybe there's something we can do."

I could tell he didn't believe that, but he was kind enough not to say anything and just give me a small nod as we headed back to the main building.

"You okay?"

I turned, relaxing into Tony's hold as he wrapped an arm around my waist with a concerned look. "No, but I'm better than they are, I'm sure."

"You did good," he said, kissing my temple. "I'm sure Clint understands. Banner too."

I grunted, not feeling entirely convinced that my words helped, but knowing there wasn't much else I could offer.

"You think the stones will tell you anything?"

"I… don't really know. They talk in riddles half the time. Or, well, the ones that like me do. And they don't exactly… talk? It's hard to explain, but if there was anything I could do, I'm sure… I hope…"

"If not, don't worry about it," he comforted me, undoubtedly seeing signs of my uncertainty from previous years creeping up. "It's not your responsibility to save everyone, remember?"

"But it's always worth it to try," I countered, earning a small smirk from him as he led me to where the stones were.

"Shall we?"

I nodded, reaching out and taking the first stone with a soft sigh. "Hello again."

* * *

"What's she doing?" Rocket asked Tony, the two of them behind protective glass as Jess rolled a blue stone between her fingers, eyes closed and a small frown on her face.

"Jess has some weird connection with the Infinity Stones," he explained. "She can communicate with them somehow; in a way we haven't exactly figured out yet. They've been giving her these sort of… visions of the future."

"So, she's like a psychic or something?"

"Or something."

"And this connection protects her from getting fried by the stones?"

Tony rubbed his head. "Not sure, actually. She's the only one able to handle them outside of their casings, but I've never seen her use them. Maybe she can't?"

Jess placed the red, yellow and purple stones into the Iron Man gauntlet they'd created before picking up the Soul Stone and holding it for a moment, muttering under her breath.

"And she thinks talking to them might somehow get Romanoff back?" Rocket confirmed.

"She's hoping," Tony replied. "Trying is all we can do. We're lucky she can communicate with them in the first place. Gives us more of a chance to change the outcome of things. That's what she believes, anyway."

Jess seemed to sag a bit as she put the Soul Stone in its place and scooped up the green Time Stone. The two stones in her hands seemed to glow for a second before she placed them away as well and opened her eyes, looking to Tony with a small nod. It was ready.

"Anything?" Tony asked as she stepped out of the room with the gauntlet, only for her to shake her head.

"Nothing concrete. There's the smallest chance of maybe using the time machine to take a Natasha from another timeline, but she wouldn't be the same. Reversing the process won't work either. The Soul Stone _requires_ a physical soul in order to manifest. Going back and stopping Natasha from sacrificing herself by replacing the stone could rip a hole in the universe or something." She rubbed her head with a small wince. "They didn't really make that part quite clear. The Time and Soul Stones were sort of bickering as to what would happen exactly, but it would be very much not good... Sorry."

Tony rapped a knuckle on her forehead. "No apologizing. You tried, and that's what counts."

"So, what now?" She asked, handing him the gauntlet.

"Now, we see if it works."

* * *

I fidgeted uneasily as the decision was made for Banner to use the gauntlet. There were things I hadn't told Tony about my discussion with the stones. They'd shown me in more detail what was going to happen. The fight, the saving grace of all the others being gathered to help, his death. I wasn't sure what they were trying to get me to understand. We'd already fought. Thanos was dead. We were just bringing back the others who'd been snapped out of existence. Tony was _alive_. Why show me something that had already happened?

"Jess? You good?"

I blinked, realizing that Banner was getting ready to put on the gauntlet and everyone was suited up. "Huh? Y-Yeah. Sorry."

I tapped my watch, getting my suit on as Tony's voice chimed in on my internal comm, unheard by the others.

"_You okay? What's got you distracted?_"

"Nothing," I murmured, feeling as though I was missing something vitally important about the vision the stones had shone me.

"_I know it's not nothing. You can't lie to me, Jess._"

"I'm pretty sure focusing on Bruce is more important right now," I bit out, that inkling that something was wrong making my temper run high just as Banner began crying out in pain at the power of the stones.

I winced as well, feeling the energy like a knife to the head, bringing my hand up as the stones threw those images at me again, trying to get me to see, to understand. _What? What do you want me to see?_ I doubled over in pain, feeling Clint grab my arm to help me and calling out to me, but I was focused solely on what I was seeing. Then, it clicked.

"It wasn't Wakanda," I breathed in shock, feeling the pain ebb away now that Banner had snapped his fingers and collapsed.

"What? What are you talking about?" Clint questioned, before perking up, hearing his cellphone buzzing.

He helped me sit on the ground as he walked away to answer the phone—Lang stepping out to look at the birds that had returned and Tony checking on Banner before heading over to me.

"What was that? What's going on, Jess?"

"It wasn't Wakanda," I repeated, eyes wide in fear.

"What wasn't Wakanda?"

"The vision. It wasn't a battle in Wakanda. It was a battle here."

He frowned. "Jess, what are you saying?"

"Thanos isn't gone. Thanos is coming here, _now_, and…" I looked around, suddenly realizing something. "Where's Nebula?"

Tony looked around as I saw a shadow falling over us and glanced up. At the sight of the large ship hovering overhead, my heart skipped a beat as I shouted.

"Everyone! Get down!"

I lunged for the gauntlet the second we were all knocked off our feet and everything went dark. It took a moment for me to blink back into consciousness and I groaned, shaking my head clear of the fog and trying to contact someone—_anyone_.

"Friday? Friday, are the comms working?"

My screens flickered and faded, making me curse as I pushed debris off me and got to my feet. I immediately looked for the gauntlet and felt relief rush through me when I spotted it just under some rubble. I reached over, brushing it off before hearing a groan.

"Clint!" I scooped up the gauntlet and helped him to his feet. "You okay?"

"Been better. Did a building just fall on us?"

I looked up and nodded. "Thanos."

"I thought he was dead."

"According to the stones, we had an enemy in our midst and didn't know it. They brought Thanos from the other timeline into his future, our present." I gave Clint a look. "We can't let him get the stones."

"You have a plan?"

I winced. "Sort of? The beginnings of one. I just… I don't have enough details with what they're showing me. More than before, but—"

"You know what?" He stopped me. "I don't want to know."

There was a sound then and we both stiffened, him drawing an arrow silently and firing it down the tunnel. I groaned when it lit up the hoard of alien creatures crawling on the walls.

"Damn horror movie cliché."

"Run," Clint muttered, and I nodded.

"After you."

We both took off down the tunnel as he eyed me.

"Can't you do anything? Shoot them or something?"

"Can't! System's rebooting!" I replied, smacking the side of my head to get the jittery screens to stop flickering. "It'll be a bit before I'm able to charge up anything."

"What about the others?" He asked, firing off arrows as we went down another tunnel. "Can you contact them?"

"Comms are down. Even if my suit was working, I don't think I'd get anything."

"What use is that suit anyway!" He complained.

"Honestly? It's an overpowered tin can but handy for shielding," I replied, wincing as I saw Thanos appear in my mind.

"_I thought by eliminating half of life the other half would thrive, but you've shown me that's impossible. As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist."_

"Why are you showing me this?" I hissed under my breath.

"What?" Clint questioned.

"The stones. They're still showing me visions," I explained, shaking my head. "Thanos is changing his mindset. We fucked up his plans, so now he wants to—"

"_I will shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the stones you've collected for me, create a new one, teeming with life that knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe."_

I grit my teeth. "He wants to become a God. He's going to destroy everything and build the perfect universe from scratch."

"You're kidding."

"Honestly, I wish I was."

Clint's arrows exploded, knocking us forward as the creatures screamed behind us, but I knew that wouldn't do much and was quick to get him back on his feet.

"Go up!" I shouted, shoving the gauntlet into his hands and he hesitated.

"But you can't use your suit!"

I rolled my neck, suit glowing red. "I told you, I don't need a suit."

He nodded, using his grappling hook to go up through the tunnel above us as I slammed a heavy fist into the creature that ran up to me. It fell to the ground with a screech as the others took a step back, cautious as my suit superheated hot enough to create heat waves in the air.

"I think I've watched enough _Alien_ to know you lot don't like fire."

One screeched and threw itself forward and I easily impaled it with my hand, ripping it off with a grimace of disgust at the scent of burnt flesh that I caught the scent of. It was never one I'd get used to, even with my power, but I didn't have time to think about it as the rest of the horde rushed forward. I was rather surprised how few were left though, letting out a sigh of relief as Friday finally chimed in to announce my suit was fully charged once more.

"You're late," I grumbled.

"_Apologies, Miss Jess._"

I went to complain about the name, but begrudgingly let it pass. Vision wasn't around right now, so she might as well. I flew up through the tunnel and landed beside an abandoned gauntlet, turning my gaze to Clint with a small frown, but he just pointed to the people who'd now joined us. I blinked at the dead Nebula and the living one standing alongside a green-skinned woman I'd never met before as I scooped up the gauntlet.

"Should I be trying to kill either of you right now?" I asked, Nebula rolling her eyes.

"Myself from the past sabotaged everything. She is now dead, so no."

"Right… And green girl?"

Said woman glared. "Excuse me?"

"Gamora," Nebula cut in. "My sister."

"Right… Clint?"

"They're safe," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"The stones seem to think so," I agreed, earning a curious look from Gamora. "God, I'm tired of explaining this. I can communicate with them, okay? Don't ask questions. We need to get to the surface."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Clint asked and I lifted the gauntlet.

"With this."

"Uh, last I checked, it fries anyone who uses it."

"If you use the power of all the stones, all together, to cause a massive event like snapping half the universe into existence or non, yeah," I rattled off, plucking the Space Stone from its nook in the gauntlet. "But borrowing the power of _one_ stone to do a measly thing like providing a portal upstairs? It'll do it just to impress me."

"How are you able to even _touch_ the stones?" Gamora gaped.

"They like me," I shrugged, wincing when the Reality, Power and Mind Stones flared in the gauntlet. "Well, some of them, anyway. The rest sort of… tolerate me."

"I'm still not going to get used to that," Clint grumbled, making me roll my eyes.

"Whatever, let's just go."

He waved an arm. "After you, soothsayer."

"Shut the hell up, cockatoo."

"Hey!"

* * *

Steve struggled to his feet, shield broken, but willing to fight until the death if it meant saving the universe—saving Earth. Thanos was hardly fazed by his bravado, backed by an army of creatures who had no problem killing anything that moved. Steve never felt more alone than in that moment, having no back up as he faced down the wanna-be God and his army. Then, a familiar voice over his comms.

"_Hey, Cap. Do you read me?_"

Surely, he was imagining it.

"_Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me? On your left._"

Steve turned in amazement as a golden portal opened up just behind his left shoulder, allowing three Wakandan's to step through—people who had been dead up until a moment ago. Sam flew through the portal as well, doing a sweep in the air as a multitude of other portals began to appear. Doctor Strange floated through with Star-Lord and his crew, along with Peter Parker. All the Asgardians entered through their own portal with more mystic arts users allowing more and more fighters through from SHIELD personnel to Bucky, Wanda, Vision, and Groot.

"Is that everyone?" Strange asked Wong, who shot him a disbelieving look.

"What? You wanted more?"

Lang took his chance, turning giant and appearing from underground with Banner, Rhodey and Rocket in his hand. Then, a glowing blue portal opened up at the head of the group and Clint stepped out with Gamora, Nebula, and Jess at the very front. Her helmet opened up and she smirked over at the beaten crew in front of her as the blue stone hovered in her hand.

"Somebody called for backup?"

Steve grinned as the army roared and faced a mildly surprised Thanos. "Avengers!" He called out, Thor's hammer flying into his hand. "Assemble."

The army let out a roar and charged. Jess placed the stone back into the gauntlet Clint had, much to his surprise.

"What? You're not going to keep using it?"

"The stones need to be kept together if we've got any chance of getting out of this mess. We need to get them all back to where they need to be."

"How? The machine's destroyed."

"Just trust me. Keep it safe and out of view for now."

He nodded as she flung an alien creature over his head with a huff.

"Honestly. I'm trying to have a conversation," she complained before flying off to help with the rest of the battle.

Lang was using his size to his advantage while he could, taking out some of the larger flying creatures and planes while the Wakandan army, Asgardians and other Avengers dealt with the creatures below, including Thanos's children. Jess caught up with Tony for only a moment before spotting Thor and Steve down below not paying attention as they bickered over their hammer and ax.

"No, no. Give me that. You have the little one," Thor complained, grabbing for the ax that Steve held and tossing the hammer only for Jess to swoop down, grab it out of the air and swing it upward to catch the overgrown gorilla-like alien that had been charging at them in the chin.

Steve gaped as Jess huffed and tossed the hammer back to him. "You… You can use the hammer?"

"Ta-da," she drawled, flying off again as Steve looked at Thor, who avoided his gaze.

"You _knew_?"

"She threatened to throw out all my beer."

Jess rolled her eyes, only to feel her heart stop as she caught sight of Tony being thrown away by the largest of Thanos's children. _Hell no._ She flew over, knocking him upside the head the same instant he was grabbed and yanked back, only to be stepped on by Lang. She landed at Tony's side in concern before following his gaze to Peter as he rushed over and helped him up.

"Hey! Holy cow! You will not believe what's been going on," He breathed, rambling quickly. "Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? And I must've passed out because I woke up and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there, right? And he was like, 'It's been five years. Come on, they need us.' And then he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time. What are you doing?"

Tony stepped forward and pulled him into a tight hug, making Jess crack a smile as she easily knocked away an alien that tried to interrupt.

"Oh, this is nice," Peter replied, glancing at Jess. "Is, uh… Is this all right?"

"We're in the middle of a battle against a man threatening to blow up the universe and you two are hugging it out." Jess shrugged, throwing two more aliens away. "Could be better timed, but I won't argue."

"Oh, okay. Cool."

"You two are explaining this to your aunt though."

"Oh… not so cool."

"_Cap! What do you want me to do with this damn thing! Jess said we need to get the stones back, but I don't know how!_" Clint called over the comms as they all went back to fighting; Jess doing her best to get back over to where Clint was to help.

"No way to get them back. Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel," Tony replied, but Lang had a plan.

"Hold on," he said, shrinking back down and pulling out his keys. "That wasn't our only time machine."

La Cucaracha echoed across the battlefield and Steve ran to the top of a debris pile as he called over the comms.

"Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?"

"Yes, but you're not gonna like where it's parked!" Valkyrie reported from the air.

"Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?" Tony asked.

"Uh, maybe ten minutes."

"Get it started. We'll get the stones to you."

"We're on it, Cap."

While they went to work on that, Jess landed a moment before Tony did over by Doctor Strange.

"You'll be glad to know the Ancient One thinks you're an idiot for giving up the stone," she teased, earning a roll of Strange's eyes.

"Of _course,_ she does."

Jess went over and punched him harshly in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"And _that_ was for dying without my permission."

"Since when do I need your permission?" He complained, easily batting away an approaching alien.

"Since you and I started to get along, you dunce," she joked, flying off as Tony removed his helmet and Strange gave him a look.

"You need to do something about her," Strange complained.

"What makes you think _I_ can do anything?" Tony quipped. "But hey. You said one out of 14 million, we win, yeah? Tell me this is it."

"If I tell you what happens, it won't happen," Strange said seriously and Tony frowned.

"You better be right."

Clint was finally spotted, getting saved by T'Challa who took the gauntlet and began to make his way through the battlefield while fighting, only to get knocked off his feet by Thanos's boomerang-like sword. Wanda jumped in between them though, absolutely furious.

"You almost took everything from me," she growled.

"I don't even know who you are."

"You will."

She began to fight Thanos, distracting him as T'Challa tried to go after the gauntlet only for Ebony—one of Thanos's children—to move it almost out of reach.

"I got it!"

Peter Parker flew by, taking it from the struggling T'Challa and doing his best to fight his way through the aliens that rushed at him. Wanda was holding her own against Thanos with Vision's help—the man unwilling to let her fight him alone and withholding _some_ power from the stone that was now gone from his body. But Thanos had other plans. Missiles rained down from his ship, hitting his own army and doing damage to the Avengers as well. Wanda was knocked off her feet and many were forced to take cover under shielding from mystic arts users as Strange himself became occupied holding back the water from a busted dam.

"Help! Somebody help!"

Peter was getting overwhelmed by aliens and Steve used his quick thinking to throw his hammer for Peter to get pulled by. His webbing was cut and he almost fell, before Jess swooped in, grabbing him and the hammer, passing him off to Valkyrie to knock a missile out of the way. Peter was soon thrown to the ground though, unable to do anything but cover his head and pray no missiles would hit him when they suddenly stopped. All eyes went up to find the missiles shooting into the clouds and Jess landed beside Peter in concern.

"You good?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm, I'm good. I think, anyway."

Thanos's ship was easily destroyed as Captain Marvel made her entrance, landing beside Jess and Peter as he held the gauntlet in a death grip.

"Hi, I'm Peter Parker," he muttered, still in shock.

"Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for us."

"Oh, including me now, are we?" Jess snorted as she helped Peter to his feet where he saw the army heading right for them.

"I don't know how you're gonna get it through all of that."

"Don't worry."

"They've got help."

Wanda, Valkyrie, Okoye, Pom, the Wasp, Gamora and Shuri joined the group as Peter passed the gauntlet to Captain Marvel who smiled at Jess.

"We should get drinks sometime."

Jess snorted. "Tony would get jealous."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Definitely."

"Could you two flirt some other time?" Valkyrie complained as Jess turned, lifting her helmet with a raised brow.

"What? You're not coming? Girl's night out. Sounds fun."

Okoye sighed. "We'll set up a date later. Can we focus on the alien army first?"

"If we have to," Jess sighed, helmet flipping back down as Peter slowly slipped away, hoping to never again be caught in the middle of a conversation like that.

The group charged in Okoye easily taking care of the child of Thanos while Valkyrie dealt with the flying creatures alongside Wanda and Jess—who used her old trick with the Space Stone to drive the creature into the ground. Captain Marvel though, made a beeline for the opened time machine van, but Thanos got in the way—or _would have_ if Jess hadn't teamed up with Shuri and the Wasp to knock him aside. Thanos wasn't defeated yet though, throwing his sword into the machine and knocking everyone back as a shockwave exploded out of the van, stopping what could have been the end of the battle.

* * *

I pushed a slab of concrete off me, sucking in a sharp breath of air and grimacing down at the lead pipe that protruded from my left side. I heated my hand, grabbed it from behind my back and melting it off so I could sit up, counting slowly in my head before yanking the pipe cleanly out with a cry of pain. _Damn, damn, God damn, shit that hurts!_ I could feel it being healed though, lifting my gaze as the stones called out.

_Chance._

_Soon._

_Only you._

_Don't fail._

_One shot._

_Focus._

The last one had me holding my breath as I looked over at where they'd called from. Tony was nearby, throwing a corpse off him as Thanos rushed for the gauntlet.

"What do I do?" I muttered, struggling to think of what I could do in this situation, and knowing I only had seconds.

_You're the only one capable._

"Capable of what?" I hissed as Thanos elbowed Tony in the face and Thor rushed in to stop him getting the gauntlet.

_You did it before._

An image of me using the Space Stone earlier passed through, focused solely on my hand.

"I don't understand."

_You are trusted by us._

_We offer you power._

_We allowed you to wield it._

_You are the exception to this universe._

_You can change the flow of everything._

_Grab the stones._

I swallowed, thinking back to the images they'd shown me of Tony lying in the gravel, dying while Pepper cried over him. I looked at the battle as Thor and Steve were thrown away and I knew I was running out of time. I caught sight of Tony as Captain Marvel stepped in, doing her best to prevent Thanos from snapping as he finally got the gauntlet on. He was going to move. He was going to do it.

_Tony was thrown away and Thanos snapped his fingers only for nothing to happen, turning to Tony as the stones embedded themselves into his suit._

"_I am Iron Man."_

Tony threw himself at Thanos the same second I did, but I grabbed the gauntlet around the hand as Tony caught him by the wrist. Neither of us having noticed Strange standing just behind Thanos with wide eyes.

He hadn't been able to predict this.

* * *

Thanos kneed Tony, punching him away before turning his furious gaze on Jess as she heated up to try and melt the metal gauntlet. He growled, grabbing her with a grimace of pain as her suit burned his flesh, but still managing to slam her to the ground and kick her away. He huffed, standing tall and lifting his hand.

"I am inevitable," he declared, snapping his fingers, but nothing happened.

His gaze snapped to Tony as the man sat up and looked to his hands in confusion.

He could have sworn he'd grabbed the stones.

Jess though, cringed at the thrum of power from the gems embedded in her own suit, drawing their attention to her.

"Jess… Jess, no!" Tony yelled, struggling to get to his feet as she managed a grimace of a smile.

"Sorry, Tony. I-I couldn't let you die," she breathed, seeing Thanos turn to her in shock. "_I'm_ the one… who's not meant to exist here."

She snapped her fingers turning the entire alien army to dust as Thanos watched it all before sitting on a rock as he too began to blow away in the wind, defeated. Tony stumbled over to Jess as she faltered back and sagged against a pile of debris.

"No… No, no, no. Why? Why would you do this?" He croaked out, brushing his hand over the left side of her face that now had burns trailing up her neck.

Peter landed behind Rhodey as others began to head over as well, him looking at Tony and Jess in concern.

"Mr. Stark? M-Mrs. Stark?" He croaked out, starting to head over, but Rhodey held him back as Jess breathed heavily and reached up a shaky hand to grab Tony's wrist.

"I-I saw this… from the beginning," she croaked out, tears in her eyes. "Every night, I-I saw you like this. I wanted to do something. I-I… I had to change something. I couldn't let you…"

"No. No, you didn't have to… You _never_ had to do anything," Tony choked, shaking himself as tears slipped down his own face. "Goddammit, Jess. I would have been fine. All you needed to do w-was keep yourself safe."

"Y-You would have died," she argued.

"Now _you're_ dying!" He cried and she shook her head.

"I-I'm not even… supposed to be here."

"Don't you say that," he said sharply. "Don't you ever say that, Jess. I don't care what some glowing rock says. You're _meant_ to be here. You _are_ _**here!**_ I… I want you _here_."

"W-We won."

"That doesn't matter," he brushed aside. "None of that matters, if y-you're not…"

"Tony."

Tony clenched his eyes shut, bowing his head until Jess brushed her hand over his temple.

"Tony, look at me."

He lifted his gaze as Jess cracked a small, soft smile.

"You're going to be okay. I-I promise."

He sagged, leaning forward to press his head against her chest as he let out a choked sob—her hand resting on the back of his head as she closed her eyes.


	38. Chapter 38

**This is it. The Epilogue! Sorry, it's short, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long after that cliffhanger. **

**And for those wanting more, I apologize. This is most definitely the end. I don't like doing fanfics that continue on using other characters like their daughter Ashley or anything. It tends to wear me out when I read fanfics like that, and I don't want to drag out something that's better left on its own. **

**So, please review and let me know what you all think. I hope this epilogue helps end everything well (I've only ended maybe one other story and always seem to struggle actually ending fanfics). If you have any questions or comments, feel free to PM me! I _do_ suggest PMing my other account though (bored411) as I tend to look at that one more often than this one and fanfiction isn't emailing me to let me know I have a PM.**

* * *

"Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way. I'm glad families have been reunited. I'm glad we got it all back and something like the normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. A universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren't alone, let alone to this extent? I mean, I-I wouldn't have been surprised but come on. Who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And for better or worse, that's the reality all our children are going to have to find a way to grow up in. But the hero gig… Part of the journey is the end, and what Natasha sacrificed for us was worth far more than any of us could have hoped."

Tony looked over the crowd of SHIELD agents and Avengers as they all stood in his yard suited in black coats out of respect for the fallen agent who'd died for the Soul Stone required to save the day. A bouquet was sent off across the lake in her respect and as the funeral ended, those gathered spent the afternoon speaking in hushed voices uncharacteristic for the noisy group while enjoying the lunch catered for them all. Doctor Strange wandered over to Tony, nodding his head in respect as the billionaire shot him a look.

"So, one in 14 million?"

Strange sighed. "I _told_ you, she was never _in_ any of them. What she did… I never predicted that."

"That's her," Tony grumbled. "Unpredictable. Ow!"

His leg crumpled at the knee and he turned with a scowl at the woman who'd given him a dead leg as she shot him a look.

"You talking shit about me?"

"No," he said the same time Strange said,

"Yes."

Before Tony could argue, Ashley rushed over and tugged at the hem of the woman's black jacket.

"Mom, can I go show Nate my room?"

"As long as you clean it up later, I don't care."

"Yes!"

The girl ran off as Strange snorted.

"Never expected to see you as a mother, Jess."

Jess gave him a dirty look, eyes flaring gold briefly as she leaned heavily on her dark cherry wood cane—thankfully made fireproof. "Don't start with me Strange. I can still set your suit on fire."

"Best not compromise your health, Jess."

Her eye twitched, palms already heating up a bright red. "You're _really _asking for it, you know."

"Now, now, relax dear," Tony said, draping his arm over her shoulder. "If you start to get too heated up, we'll have to pull out the barbeque again."

Needless to say, he yelped as her shoulders burned his hand and she turned to face the snickering Captain Marvel.

"When are we getting those drinks? I'm going to need one in a minute."

"Whenever you want," she replied with a smirk. "It's not like it takes long for me to get here."

"Show off," Jess complained, hobbling off with her to go see what Vision and Wanda wanted as they waved her over.

Steve stepped up beside Tony as the man shook his hand to cool it down. "How's she doing?"

"Huh? Oh, Jess? Good. She's doing good."

"Tony," Steve chided, knowing that he wasn't quite telling the truth.

Tony rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Better. Okay? She's doing… better."

"She gave us quite the scare."

"You weren't the one crying over her thinking she was dead," he grumbled.

"She almost was… Say, did she know—"

"No," Tony cut him off, knowing what he was going to say. "She told me ages ago, way before that… She ever knew what her own timeline was. Just ours. She didn't… She didn't think she'd survive. Says it was just dumb luck. Her fire abilities."

"We know it's not though," Steve agreed as Tony nodded.

"The stones had something to do with it."

Steve hummed. "Any more visions from her?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Her connection with them is as good as finished."

"And you? What are _you_ going to do now that she…" Steve trailed off, giving the woman a glance as she shuffled on her feet and adjusted her weight a bit.

Tony followed his gaze, eyes sad. "Retire. We're both getting older anyway, and as much as she hates to admit it, she can't use a suit anymore. Body's not able to handle it for long. Besides," he waved off, managing a small smile. "We've got Ash to take care of and plenty of heroes to go around. Maybe we'll find a successor, should the world every need another Iron Man."

Steve smiled in return, glad to see that hope still in his eyes even after what had happened. He pat him on the shoulder, stepping away to go meet up with Banner, who'd get him through the process of returning the stones to their proper timeline for the safety of everyone involved within the next few days.

* * *

I sat heavily on the sofa, sagging and grimacing at the ache that ran up my left side, setting my cane aside and rubbing at my knee.

"Do you want an ice pack?"

I looked over my shoulder at Tony, wishing I could scowl and joke about the pain I was in, but I couldn't. I just nodded silently and grumbled.

"And my meds too, if you could. Is Ash—"

"Already in bed," Tony answered with a hum, grabbing what I needed from the kitchen and joining me on the couch with a couple of glasses of alcohol.

"I didn't ask for this," I complained, eyeing the bottle. "My meds don't mix well with alcohol."

"So, don't take them yet," he shrugged off, leaning forward, pouring us drinks and settling back with an arm around my shoulders to pull me close to him.

I placed the ice pack on my left knee to cool the ache settling there from being on my feet most of the day because of the funeral, hoping it would soothe the bitterness that had wrapped itself around me since I'd woken up in the hospital and discovered my now limited mobility. Tony, undoubtedly sensing my mood, lightly tugged on my earlobe, making me scowl at him.

"You know I love you, right?" He hummed, making me sigh and sag into his chest.

"So you've said for the millionth time today."

"Because I want you to understand how much I mean it," he said seriously, lightly turning my head to face him. "What happened didn't change anything. You're still a brilliant woman and very hot."

I rolled my eyes, leaning forward and putting down my glass. "Yeah, maybe I _should_ take my medication and head to bed if you're going to go all cheesy on me."

"Jess." His hand wrapped around my arm, stopping me as his gentle brown eyes gazed back at me seriously. "I mean it. Every word. You are _everything_ to me."

I sank back a bit, unable to keep looking at him as I glanced at my left hand that was wrinkled, pink and stiff from the aftermath of what I'd done. His hand reached over it and held it tight, drawing my gaze back to him.

"And I will keep telling you that until you believe it. Every second of every day."

I gave in with a heavy sigh, leaning back against him once more and turning to wrap my arm around him as I pressed my nose to the crook of his neck. "How the hell did I end up with you?"

He snorted. "Please. I've been asking myself that ever since I met you." He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight and resting his head against mine. "How did I end up with the strongest, more beautiful woman in the world, who just so happened to be capable of saving the universe? Was it my charm? My wit? My amazing sense of humor?"

I snorted, lightly slapping him on the chest and earning a smile in return. "Definitely not that."

"Oh, come on. I think I do pretty good," he chuckled, leaning down and kissing me lightly. "Feel better?"

_Oh, this dunce. Always trying to distract me._ "Much," I murmured, shooting him a look. "So, what now since you're retiring with me?"

He shrugged. "Well, you know, it's unofficial retirement really."

I raised a brow. "Meaning?"

"We can still help out. Mess around with SHIELD a bit, maybe upgrade some super suits. Weren't you looking into upgrading Friday with some sort of uh, early warning alert systems? Fiddle with that, tweak it here or there, maybe take a _real_ vacation. But Nepal is _definitely_ off the list."

I snorted, pushing myself up and standing carefully as he quickly stood to help me. "You and Strange really need to stop bickering over me."

"Who said we were bickering? I _obviously_ won," he huffed, childishly sneaking in for another kiss and looking at me with a spark of mischievousness.

"Oh, no," I said, knowing what the look meant.

"Come on," he hummed with a wiggle of his brows, offering a hand to me and easily sliding me away from my cane that I'd gone to grab, pulling me to his chest once more. "Not up for a bit of fun?"

"We _just_ put Ash to bed! What if she wakes up!" I hissed.

"Friday?" He chimed and the AI promptly responded.

"_The alert system is activated and will inform you should she awaken. I have also prepared distractions via the holographic system to prevent her from leaving her room and can prepare hot chocolate to satisfy any evening snacking._"

I shot Tony a look as he grinned.

"See?"

"I can't believe you came up with a whole protocol should our daughter wake up while we're busy."

He shrugged. "I got distracted working on the home security protocol."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Fine, but you have to help me."

He grinned, making me yelp as he scooped my feet off the ground and carried me—still surprisingly strong for how old we were both getting. "Oh, I will."

* * *

Fury sighed heavily as his car pulled up to the famous Lady Liberty and he stepped out, peering against the glare of the morning sun and raising a hand to shield his brows.

"Can one of you two _please_ explain why I've been getting numerous calls about a couple of iron-suited figures having breakfast on the _crown_ of the Statue of Liberty!"

Tony and Jess both peeked over the edge, Tony stuffing a donut in his mouth as Jess snorted.

"You know? I honestly don't have a clue!" Tony called back down, before glancing at his wife briefly. "Gotta go! Ash can't be late for school. Bye!"

"Stark!"


End file.
